At least once in your life, you might stumble upon an incident or a person that will cause you some damage or injury. Whether it is food poisoning, a faulty chair in a restaurant or an unpaid debt, these things may be valid reasons for you to sue a company or an individual. If you feel that you incurred an emotional, monetary or physical loss by such event, you may have just embarked on your first suing process. Here below, a guide on how to sue in a small claims court:
1) File your small claims lawsuit. You go to the court in your city and ask for a “summons and complaint” form. You may also do advance research or download some forms from websites that have copies of the forms. When you write the name of your defendant (the person you are suing) make sure you write down the exact name. Any error on this part may lead to a case dismissal at any point of the proceedings.
2) Get your lawsuit served. This means that your defendant must be legally informed about the lawsuit against him (or her) and can be done by mail or delivery. You are responsible for mailing the complaint to your defendant once your lawsuit has been filed.
3) Wait for your defendant’s response. Your defendant has 20-30 days to file an answer.of anything these three things may happen:
a. Your defendant pays you the money you are asking for. You will notify the court in writing that the case has been settled.
b. If your defendant does not reply when the answer is due, you may ask the court for a notice of default. The notice of default may lead to a judgment and you win the case.
c. A counterclaim is filed by the defendant. You are now given 20 days to reply. If you don’t file a response, you will be defaulted and your case will be dismissed.
4) Prepare for your case. Remember that evidence is important and not your story. The judge has no idea who you are and will look at how well your story is backed up. What you say is not as important as what proves that your story is credible and true. It’s a good idea to go practice your presentation in advance. Practice with a discriminating friend until you get it right.
There you have it, easy steps to prepare you for your trial. Follow these steps and keep a calm heart. If you are telling the truth, nothing should go wrong.
