Image via flickr.com.

Hopefully, you won’t ever have to file a court case. Hopefully, you won’t be involved in an accident, a divorce, a personal injury or anything like that. But sometimes it does happen, and it’s best to be prepared. Knowing how to properly file a court case will ensure that you are ready to take legal action should you need to and receive compensation should you deserve it.

A small claims court is a civil court that hears “cases involving relatively small amounts of money and without a request for court orders…” There is no jury, there are no lawyers and there is a cap on how much money can be claimed. It is both more informal and more expeditious than a standard court case. Many of the court programs on television, such as Judge Judy, are small claims courts. The steps for filing a small claims court case are:

1. Gather information about the situation and the person you believe is responsible for whatever damages you’ve incurred.
2. Determine jurisdiction and fill out the proper claims forms. Submit them to the local clerk’s office and file a complaint. Include all information on damages and the events that led to the case. If any important information is missing, the court may return the paperwork. Claims forms are available at your local court or online.
3. Pay filing fees. Small claims fees are fairly reasonable.
4. The other party will be summoned to appear in court. This is done by the court or by you via service papers. You personally are not to serve the papers. A nonaligned party must do so.
5. Once the hearing begins, present your case and provide all evidence to support it.
6. After the case, if you win, either the court will pay you and collect from the other party, or you will collect your judgment from the other party yourself.

A civil action court case is like a small claims case in that there are no criminal charges involved. But a civil lawsuit is more formal, there is no limit on claims and the damages are usually more serious. Both sides are free to hire an attorney like a San Antonio personal injury lawyer. The procedure is similar to that of a small claims case, but on a somewhat larger scale. Court fees are higher, events are a bit more complex and more is often at stake.

Filing a court case incorrectly will prevent the case from moving forward. The court will reject or return improper paperwork, and you will have to start over. But if you are prepared and do everything correctly, the case and hearing will go smoothly. The result, however, will depend on the evidence.

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