District Court Civil

Responsibilities

The Civil Division is responsible for:

• General civil cases up to $25,000
• Landlord/tenant and land contract
• Small claims up to $6,000
• Weddings

Small Claims Process

The person starting the case is called the plaintiff, and the person being sued is referred to as the defendant. In most civil cases, the plaintiff is requesting a specific amount of money to be paid by the defendant. The case must be filed in the jurisdiction in which it occurred.

If the dispute between the parties involves amounts of $6,000 or less, the parties can elect to file the case with the Small Claims division. Parties cannot be represented by an attorney if a matter is filed in the Small Claims Division.

General Civil Process

If the dispute between the parties involves a claim of under $25,000 the District Court handles these General Civil matters. The filing fees vary with the amount of the claim.

In a General Civil case both the plaintiff and defendant may be represented by an attorney.

Clerks of the Court

• The clerks of the court are not attorneys and are prohibited by law from providing legal advice. 
• Their responsibilities include accepting your filing and the fee associated with each claim. 
• They are not allowed to offer any assistance to you in completing or processing your paperwork.