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WHAT IS A CIVIL CASE?
WHAT IS SMALL CLAIMS COURT ?
SHOULD I KNOW ABOUT LANDLORD AND TENANT
DISPUTES?
HOW DO I COLLECT GARNISHMENTS?
HOW DO I RESPOND TO A GARNISHMENT?
HOW DOES ONE FILE FOR DIVORCE?
WHAT IS MEDIATION?
WHAT IS A CIVIL
CASE?
Generally, a civil case is a court procedure for working out a disagreement between two
people, businesses or organizations. The disagreement usually involves one person
believing that he or she has
been hurt, had their rights violated or property damaged by another person. A civil case
is not a criminal case.
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. However, in some civil
cases, the plaintiff may be asking the court to tell the defendant to stop some behavior
or to do a specific thing. The plaintiff is responsible for paying the filing fees, and
most other required fees such as service fees.
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 $1,750 or less, the plaintiff and defendant can elect to
file the case with the small claims division of the district court.
In a civil cases, both the plaintiff and the defendant may be represented by an attorney,
unless the case is filed as a small claims case.
WHAT IS A SMALL
CLAIMS COURT?
When you are suing someone for $3,000 or less, your case can be heard in Small Claims
Court. Small claims court is a division of the district court. Your case may be heard by a
judge or a magistrate.
In small claims cases, the parties represent themselves. You cannot have an attorney
present your case. In addition, the judge's decision is final and cannot be appealed. If
either party objects to these
conditions, the case will be transferred to the district court for a hearing.
If you are the one filing the case, you are called the plaintiff, and the person or
business you are suing is called the defendant. Small claims cases should be filed either
in the county where the cause of action arose or in the county where the defendant resides
or is employed.
To start the case, the plaintiff must file an "affidavit and claim form" with
the clerk of the small claims court. This form is available from the small claims court.
The cost of filing your lawsuit in Small Claims court is $17.00 for claims up to
$600, and $32.00 for claims from $600 to $3,000. The
plaintiff is responsible for paying the filing fee and other fees. If the judge rules in
favor of the plaintiff, the fees may be added to the judgment against the defendant.
It is important to realize that if a money judgment is ordered by the judge, the defendant
may not automatically pay the money and court costs to the plaintiff. You may have to take
additional steps to obtain your money. One of the ways to collect is to garnish the
defendant's wages or bank account. Garnishments are addressed elsewhere on this page.
Many courts are offering mediation as an alternative to filing a small claims case. You
may want to contact the small claims clerk to see if a mediation program is available in
your community.
WHAT SHOULD I KNOW ABOUT LANDLORD
- TENANT DISPUTES?
If you are renting a home, apartment, mobile home, or some other building from someone,
you are a tenant. A landlord is the person who is renting the home, apartment, mobile
home, or some building to
you. Both the tenant and the landlord have legal rights.
A tenant can be evicted from the property for a variety of reasons. Some common
reasons are failure to pay rent, destruction of property and refusal to follow rules and
regulations.
Before a landlord can file a lawsuit to evict the tenant, the tenant must be served a
Notice to Quit. After the specified time on the Notice to Quit has passed, a complaint may
be filed in district court. There is a fee for filing the complaint. A copy of the
complaint and a notice of the court hearing must be served on the tenant.
If the tenant fails to appear at the court hearing and answer the complaint, a default
judgment for possession of the property and money judgments may be entered 10 days after
the default judgment
has been entered, the landlord may obtain a document called a Writ of Restitution. This
authorizes the landlord to evict the tenant and remove the tenant's belongings from the
rental property.
A tenant who disagrees with the eviction notice may request a trial. If a jury trial
is requested, the court may require the tenant to deposit future rent payments into an
escrow account until the case is settled.
A tenant may claim that rent is not being paid because the property is unlivable or in
need of repair. This is called a constructive eviction. In these cases, the court
may reduce the amount of rent owed or require the landlord to make some repairs.
Generally, the person who signs a lease agreement is responsible for making the rent
payments. If you sign a lease with someone else as joint tenants, and the other person
refuses to pay their share, you may be held accountable for the entire amount. Likewise,
if you sublet your rental property to someone else, you are still responsible for all rent
payments.
If a tenant moves out before the lease expires, the landlord can file a complaint with the
district court to collect the payments remaining in the lease period. The landlord must
try to re-rent the premises. This is called mitigation of damages.
A tenant can file a complaint with the district court if his or her damage deposit is not
refunded or if they disagree with any charges made by the landlord against the deposit.
For damage deposits less than $3,000 you can also file a claim in small claims court.
For further assistance regarding landlord and tenant rights, contact an attorney or a
legal aid society, or mediation center.
HOW DO I COLLECT A GARNISHMENT?
If you have received a money judgment against another person as a result of a
lawsuit, and the time allowed by the court for payment has passed, you can ask the court
for a garnishment as a method of
collecting the money. Garnishment is a court procedure allowing you to collect money
from the other person's wages, property or bank accounts.
This message will help people who want to start a garnishment proceeding.
If you begin the garnishment proceeding, you are called the plaintiff. The person
who owes you money is called the defendant. The bank, employer or other third party who
has control over the principal defendant's assets is called the garnishee.
The most common type of garnishment is called an income withholding. In an income
withholding, money from the defendant's paycheck is withheld by the employer and sent to
the plaintiff. Each
garnishment lasts for 90 days. After expiration a new garnishment must be filed.
This process continues until the judgment has been paid in full. Other sources of
income that can be garnished are saving accounts and money obtained from the sale of
property or other assets.
As the plaintiff, you must file a form called an "Affidavit and Writ of
Garnishment" with the court that granted the original judgment. Once the court
has signed the Affidavit and Writ of Garnishment, the
plaintiff is responsible for serving these documents on the garnishee. Copies of the
writ and a disclosure form must also be provided to the defendant. The plaintiff is
responsible for paying the filing, service and disclosure fees.
After receiving these documents, the garnishee must complete and file the disclosure form
with the court. The disclosure form states what money, property or other assets they
have which belong to the
principal defendant. Copies of the completed forms must also be sent to the
plaintiff and the defendant. Some money and assets cannot be garnished by law.
You may need to consult an attorney for help. However, an attorney may not file
garnishments in small claims cases.
HOW DO I RESPOND
TO A GARNISHMENT?
If there is a legal judgment for you to pay another person money damages, and you
have not paid as ordered, the court may order your employer or someone who owes you money
or has control over
your assets to pay your debt. This is called a garnishment proceeding. The
person who starts the garnishment proceeding is called the plaintiff. The person who
owes the debt is called the defendant. An employer, bank or someone else who has control
over the principal defendant's assets is called the garnishee.
If you have already paid the debt, you should show the court which issued the order your
proof of payment. If you have not paid the debt, you can make other arrangements for
payment, such as installment payments. Read the forms carefully, and if you have other
questions, contact the court or an attorney for more information. The garnishment
should expire when the debt is paid, or after 90 days. Once expired, a new
garnishment may be filed if the debt has not been paid in full.
You should keep careful records of all payments made.
HOW DOES ONE FILE FOR DIVORCE?
The family division of circuit court handles all divorce cases in Michigan. If you
want to file for a divorce, one of the parties must have lived in Michigan for at least
180 days, and in the county where
the case will be filed for at least 10 days before filing. The person who starts the
divorce action is called the plaintiff. The plaintiff must file a complaint asking
the court to grant a divorce. There is a filing fee for this action. The
filing fee may be more if there are children of the marriage who are under the age of 18.
If there are no children under the age of 18, there is a 60 day waiting period before a
divorce can be granted. In cases where there are minor children, the waiting period
is generally 6 months. Before a divorce is granted, the court must find that there
has been a breakdown in the marriage relationship to the extent that the parties cannot
live together as husband and wife. At least one of the parties
must appear in court to show that this breakdown exists. In Michigan, a divorce can be
granted even if one of the parties does not want the divorce.
You do not need an attorney to represent you in a divorce case, but you will be expected
follow all the laws, court rules and procedures. A list of attorneys who practice
divorce law can be obtained from the bar association in your local area.
Besides ending the marriage, a divorce will divide the belongings and debts accumulated
during the marriage and decide whether alimony is required. The term alimony refers
to the amount of money the court feels one party should pay to support the other party.
In divorce cases where there are children who are under the age of 18, the divorce
judgment will address child custody, support, and visitation. Divorce cases where there are minor children involved may be referred to the Friend of the
Court office for investigation and recommendations.
WHAT IS MEDIATION?
Mediation is the process of two or more people settling problems without going to court. A
neutral person called a mediator will work with both sides to assist them in reaching a
satisfactory resolution of the problem. Mediation services do not work in all cases
but a variety of cases can be successfully resolved using mediation. Types of cases
include: property damages, neighborhood issues such as joint driveway or fence problems,
disputes between shoppers and merchants, small claims, landlord-tenant disputes, and
family disputes such as contested wills or curfew agreements.
Mediation of disputes between farmers and U.S. Department of Agriculture agencies is also
available, as is mediation for parents involved in disputes with schools over special
education issues.
Mediation is very successful; 90% of the people who agree to go to mediation reach a
settlement which resolves the matter. Each year, over 10,000 people solve their
problems this way.
If you have a dispute with someone, call the local community dispute resolution center
in your area. They will collect information about the case, contact the other person
involved, and if both parties agree to use mediation, schedule a mediation session.
During the mediation session, both parties will be able to talk about the problem, explore
solutions, and if possible, reach an agreement that is satisfactory to both.
For the telephone number of the community dispute resolution center nearest you, call
800/873-7658. This phone call is free.