What Are Small Claims Court Forms

What is a Small Claims Court?

A small-claims court is the legal venue that is responsible for administering and evaluating cases aligned with civil law. The small claims court, however, possesses limited jurisdiction to hear and observe civil cases between private litigants.

A small claims matter refers to any dispute between individuals or individuals and an entity that revolves around the exchange of a small monetary amount. Typically, cases heard in a small claims court will not preside over matters where more than $15,000 is being litigated over.

The typical case in a small claims court, for instance, will involve disputes between landlords and tenants, issues revolving around contractual obligations, matters involving services rendered, or cases involving property damages where the expected reimbursement or monetary settlement does not exceed $15,000.

Courts that are authorized to hear issues revolving around small claims may also possess other jurisdictional functions and the name by which such a venue is known will also vary based on jurisdiction. For example, a small claims court may also be referred to as a magistrate’s court or a county court.

What are Small Claims Court Forms?

Small Claims Court Forms is the formal documentation needed to initiate a small claims hearing. All small claims court forms act as the starting point for such matters. The small claims court forms not only notify the defendant that a legal action is being placed on them, but also notifies the court system that an individual or entity would like for their matter to be officially reviewed by the underlying court system.

As a result of these aforementioned functions, small claims court forms must be filed by the victimized party in a small claims matter. That being said, small claims court forms will vary based on jurisdiction and the intricacies revolving around the case.

All small claims courts, throughout the United States, use specific Small Claims Court Forms to initiate their legal actions. In addition, the parties involved in the particular small claims case will necessitate the filing of various small claims court forms. For instance, individuals who are filing legal actions against commercial entities must satisfy commercial claim forms for the underlying small court.

Statement of Claim

Although small claims court forms will vary based on jurisdiction, the majority of local court systems in the United States will require the filing party to fulfill two particular small claims court requirements. The first small claims court requirement, known as the Statement of Claim, is the legal document that officially notifies the accused party that legal action is being placed on them.

The Statement of Claim, similar to other small claims court forms, is filed with the underlying civil court of the particular jurisdiction in which the infraction occurred.

The Statement of Claim will list the reason for the initiation of legal action and the basic information of both the claimant (individual who seeks retribution) and the defendant. All Statements of Claims will necessitate the delivery of filing fees. These fees will differentiate in terms of cost based on each individual civil court system.

If the claimant wishes to bring civil action against a government agency or department, they must file the coordinating small claim court forms within 90 days of the occurrence. When the claimant notifies the underlying government body of the occurrence and the wish to bring civil action, the individual will receive a Notice of Claim in the mail. The Notice of Claim must be subsequently filled out by the claimant and mailed back to the coordinating government agency.

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