How To File A Small Claims Case Without A Lawyer
1. Complete a Complaint - Obtain a
Complaint Form from the Clerk's Office and insert the following information:
|
(a) |
The name of the Defendant; |
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(b) |
The residence address of the Defendant; |
|
(c) |
The amount the Defendant owes; |
|
(d) |
The basis for your claim against the Defendant; for
example: The Defendant has failed to pay for the following goods and/or services rendered
to him: ; |
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(e) |
Sign the Complaint; and |
|
(f) |
Have your signature notarized |
2. Complete a Summons - Obtain Summons form
from Clerk's office and insert the following information where indicated on the form:
|
(a) |
Plaintiff(s) name(s); |
|
(b) |
The name of the Defendant(s); |
|
(c) |
The address where each Defendant can be served with the
Summons and Complaint; and |
|
(d) |
Your address and telephone number should be typed in the
lower left hand corner in the spaces provided. |
3. File the Complaint and have the Summons issued
- Hand deliver to the Clerk of the Court, the original and two copies of the Complaint and
the original and multiple copies of the Summons, for each Defendant. Once filed with the
Court Clerk, keep one copy each of the filed Summons and Complaint for your records.
The Clerk's office will typically keep the original
Complaint, stamp the copies with the number of the case and the date of filing, and return
the copies to you. The Clerk's office will also typically issue the original Summons (by
signing and stamping it) and return the Summons and copies to you. The Clerk's office will
keep the original Complaint and a copy of the issued Summons for the Court file.
You should call the Clerk's office for your Court District
to ascertain the fee that will be charged, especially when filing a Jury Demand. (There is
a fee for a Jury Demand, based on whether the demand is for a six person or twelve person
jury.)
4. Service of the Complaint - Call the
Sheriff's office to ask the amount of the Sheriff's total fee to serve the Defendant(s).
The total fee consists of a service fee (in Illinois, $23 per Defendant), and a mileage
fee, which is based on the distance the Sheriff must travel to serve each Defendant.
Once the Summons has been issued by the Clerk you must take
the issued Summons and Complaint to the Sheriff for service. Many Courts have an office
for the Sheriff in the same building so you can conveniently take these copies directly to
the Sheriff for service.
To check service, telephone the Sheriff's civil process
department. If the Sheriff is unable to serve the Defendant(s) by the return date, the
Summons "dies", and a new Summons needs to be issued. The new Summons should be
labeled "Alias Summons". When the Alias Summons is issued, it can be placed with
the Sheriff to attempt service again (especially if you have a different address), or you
may want to ask the Court (by filing a motion) to have a Special Process Server appointed
(a private process server).
5. Procedure after service - Once the
Defendant is served, he is required to file his written appearance by the return date
indicated on the Summons. If he has filed his appearance by that date, the case will be
set for hearing, and you should receive a notice of the trial date from the Clerk. (If you
don't, follow up with the Clerk.) If the Defendant does not file his appearance in time,
you will typically be notified of this as well.
You will need to attend the trial and be prepared to
present the evidence of your case. If you do not appear, your case will be dismissed.
- Download complaint form in MS Word format
- Download complaint form in RTF format
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