Civil Cases of $25,000 or Less

General Info

If you are the one starting the case, you are called the plaintiff, and the person or business you are suing is called the defendant. In most civil cases, the plaintiff is asking for a specific amount of money to be paid by the defendant. The plaintiff is responsible for paying the filing fees, and most other required fees such as service fees.

Filing requirements

The district court will handle the case if the claim is for $25,000 or less. The case can be filed in the district court where the incident occurred, or in the district court where the defendant lives. The filing fee varies with the amount of the claim.

If the amount of the claim is more than $25,000, the circuit court will handle the case. The case can be filed in the circuit court where the incident occurred, or in the circuit court in the county where the defendant lives.

For disputes involving amounts of $6,500 or less, the plaintiff can elect to file the case with the small claims division of the district court. The defendant can agree to have the case remain in small claims or can request the case be removed to the regular civil division.

In civil cases, both the plaintiff and the defendant may be represented by an attorney, unless the case is filed as a small claims case.

Fees

For information on collections, view our collections page.