Small Claims
Office located on the 2nd Floor, District Court Division Telephone: 256-574-9329
WHEN FILLING OUT FORMS
PLEASE USE BLACK INK ONLY
Cash, Check and/or Money Orders accepted.
No Credit / Debit Cards
The Small Claims Court is a special civil division of the District Court where individuals
as well as businesses can settle disputes and disagreements. The maximum amount
you may sue or be sued for is $3,000.00. Procedures are simple, informal, and inexpensive.
There are no juries and you may appear before the judge with or without an attorney.
Should you file a Small Claims Case?
Before you file a claim, you should contact the person or business you plan to sue
and attempt to settle your dispute out of court. This effort may save you both time
and money.
You should also find out if the person or business you plan to sue has any money
or assets to pay your claims, if you should win. Otherwise, you may have a difficult
time collecting on a court judgment. Remember, it is up to you-not the court-to
take further legal action against the person or business if they do not pay the
judgment.
Who can use Small Claims Court?
An individual who has reached the age of 19, a business, a partnership or a corporation
may file a claim, with or without an attorney. If a partnership files without an
attorney, the person representing the partnership must be a partner or employee
of the partnership. If a corporation files without an attorney, the person representing
the corporation must be an officer or full-time employee of the corporation.
How do you file a Small Claims Case?
You or your attorney should go to the Small Claims Division of the District Court
in the county where the person or business you wish to sue lives or has an office,
and file a Statement of Claims (Complaint) form. The Court Clerk has this form,
or you can download at the link below.
To file a case in the Small Claims court, you will need to fill out both the
complaint and the summons form.
To Download Small Claims Summons Form
CLICK HERE
To download Small Claims Form
CLICK HERE
The Court Clerk cannot give you legal advice nor can they assist you in filling
out forms (you, an individual or an attorney of your choice may do this). Use only
BLACK ink when filling out forms.
Once you complete the complaint, you become the "plaintiff" in the case
and the person you are suing is the "defendant". The information that
you must have in order to complete the case is the defendant's correct and complete
address and/or their place of employment, so that service of the paperwork is done
in a timely manner.
Please file no more than 5 suits at a time in order for the work to flow at
an efficient rate for everyone. If filing more, please be prepared to spend extra
time in our office.
(Please make sure you make copies of the form after you have completed it. The
court will need an original, a copy for each defendant and a file copy for you.
If copies are not made when you come in to file your claim, there will be a charge
of $ .50 per page to make them for you. Please type or print when completing the
form)
If service by certified mail - we will need an envelope, a certified mail receipt
and a green certified mail card (all three filled out with address of person/business
you are serving)
You must pay a filing fee at the time the claim is filed. Payment may be in cash
check or money order. We cannot accept credit or debit cards. If you cannot afford
to prepay this fee, you can fill out an Affidavit of Substantial Hardship form and
ask the judge to delay payment of filing fee. You may obtain this form from the
Court Clerk.
The cost of filing the case is as follows and is broken down into a fee description
according to the amount of the claim (amount of monetary damages you are seeking
or claiming) and the fee charged at the time the case is filed. The fees for filing
a claim with more than one defendant, additional services such as garnishments,
executions and certified mail (applicable only if service is to a post office box
or out of state defendant), are listed below as well. Any additional fees or services
will be added to what the defendant owes if you (the plaintiff) win the case. Otherwise,
you (the plaintiff) will be responsible for those fees accumulated over the course
of the claim.
SEE FEE CHART
FILING FEES ARE NONREFUNDABLE
The clerk will assign your case a number and you should use this number whenever
you contact the court concerning your case.
What happens after the claim is filed?
Once the forms are completed, this office will process the complaint. It normally
takes 1 week to process the small claims case. After it is processed in our office,
it is then sent to the Sheriff's Department for service on the defendant(s)
or issued by Certified Mail (whichever method of service you requested). Once served
with a Statement of Claim, the defendant has 14 days to complete the Answer form
and to file the Answer with the Clerk's office. We will notify you of the service
date by mail with a computer printout. Please do not call for service date-we do
not check service by telephone. If the defendant files an answer, the case will
be set for trial in 4 - 6 weeks from the receipt of the answer. You should have
sufficient time or notification of the trial date in order to prepare.
If the defendant fails to file an answer, the plaintiff can take a judgment by default
by coming into the office and filling out a default request and affidavit form.
To download Application for Default Judgment
(signature needs to be notarized ) Form number C-25
CLICK HERE
If you are the defendant, what should you do after a claim has been filed?
You may choose to settle with the plaintiff before the date the claim is set for
trial. If you do settle, then the claim may be dismissed, with no judgment entered
against you. If you choose not to settle or you are unable to settle, you must answer
the Complaint within 14 days after being served, admitting or denying all or part
of the claim. Remember, your answer must be filed within 14 days
or a default judgment may be entered against you. As the defendant, you may also
choose to file a counterclaim, which is a claim that you have against
the plaintiff.
All parties to a small claims case are encouraged to try and reach a settlement
agreement prior to trial.
All settlement agreements should be in writing and should state who is to pay the
court costs. If the defendant does not agree to pay the court costs as part of the
settlement, the plaintiff will be responsible.
If a settlement agreement is reached before the trial, the plaintiff must immediately
notify the clerk so that the trial can be canceled.
What should both sides do to prepare for the trial?
If an agreement cannot be reached, both the plaintiff and defendant should get together
all papers, receipts, bills, sales tickets, estimates, photographs, etc., having
anything to do with the claim.
You should write down the details and facts of the case to assist you in telling
your side of the story at the trial.
As the plaintiff or defendant, you may bring any witnesses you feel can help explain
your case. If there is any reason to believe a witness will not voluntarily appear,
you may ask the clerk to issue a witness subpoena requiring that
person to appear. You will be required to pay a witness subpoena fee.
What happens at the trial?
BE ON TIME. If you are late, the judge may dismiss your case (if
you are the plaintiff) or he may enter a default judgment against you (if you are
the defendant). If something comes up which would prevent you from being on time
or appearing at the trial, you MUST inform the clerk as soon as
possible and request a continuance (delay) of the trial.
A trial in Small Claims Court is an informal hearing before the judge. There is
no jury. When the case is called, the plaintiff will present his/her evidence and
his/her witnesses. The defendant will then present his evidence, and call his witnesses.
After hearing both sides of the case and looking at the evidence, the judge will
make a decision and render a judgment based on the law and the
facts presented.
Mediation
Mediation is available in small claims court while you wait for your trial time
on the small claims docket.
Mediation is one way for people to settle disputes. In mediation, the people involved
in the dispute talk about solutions that might work for them. The people who help
them work out a solution are called mediators. Mediators are trained in dispute
resolution, and their aim is to encourage people who are involved in a problem to
work out a solution that satisfies them.
Mediation is free and voluntary. Either party may terminate the mediation at any
time before a settlement is reached. If the case is resolved through mediation,
an agreement will be signed by all parties, and will be approved by the judge.
If the case cannot be resolved to the satisfaction of both parties you will return
to the courtroom and begin your trial.
What can you do if you disagree with the Court's judgment?
If either of you (plaintiff or defendant) disagrees with the decision, you may appeal
the case by filing a NOTICE OF APPEAL form with the clerk of the
Small Claims Court within 14 days after the date of the judgment. The clerk has
this form.
The appeal will be heard in the Circuit Court. The party filing the appeal must
be prepared to pay a filing fee of $276.00 for a non-jury trial
or $376.00 for a jury trial and post a bond to cover any unpaid
court costs (or for an Unlawful Detainer). You may need the assistance of an attorney
if you choose to appeal because the simplified procedures of Small Claims court
do not apply in Circuit Court.
If you, the plaintiff, win, how do you collect the judgment?
If the defendant does not pay the judgment (after the appeal time has run-14 days)
it is up to you and not the court to take one of the following
actions to collect your judgment:
- Garnishment of Wages--File a Process of Garnishment. State and
federal requirements must be met in order to collect using this method. The Garnishment
filing fee must be paid at the time the form is filed in our office.
- Garnishment of Bank Account--Must know of the defendant's bank
and bank address for paperwork to be filed in our office.
- Execution for Levy on Property--Obtain a court order authorizing
the sheriff to pick up any property belonging to the defendant and sell it to satisfy
the judgment. The property levied cannot be under a recorded mortgage (plaintiff
can check with the probate court record room for recordings). A copy of the current
tax assessment along with a copy of the deed is required for property. (The tax
assessment information may be obtained by going to the Tax Assessment office on
the 1st floor of the Jackson County Courthouse. If executing on a vehicle, the current
years tag number and/or vehicle identification number (VIN) is required.
It is important to mention, you cannot garnishee a retirement check, disability
check, welfare, child assistance, unemployment or a social security check. All of
the above actions require an additional filing fee. (SEE FEES.) The clerk has the necessary forms and sometimes
the method of collection may become involved, you may wish to have an attorney explain
the procedure and assist you in filing the appropriate forms. Again the court clerk
cannot give you legal advice.
The court has no way of collection outside of the above-mentioned methods and judgments
that are good for up to ten years. It is important to mention, it is easier to get
a judgment than it is to collect on it. A judgment is not a guarantee of collection.
The plaintiff can request a certificate of judgment and have it recorded in the
county probate court. You will need to request the form from the clerk. You then
can record it in the probate judge's office. It will then go on record and must
be satisfied before the defendant can borrow money or sell property.
CLICK HERE to download Process of
Garnishment - Form C-21
CLICK HERE to download Garnishee
Answer - Form C-22
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