You may file an action in Justice Court involving damages up to and including $10,000.00. Either party can be represented by an attorney, however, if you choose to represent yourself, it is your responsibility to acquire sufficient knowledge with regards to the Rules of Civil Procedure, to complete the forms properly and to follow your action through to conclusion. The clerks in the court are not attorneys and are not authorized to give legal advice.

You must know the name and address of the party against whom you are filing your action. If the party you are filing a claim against is a corporation, you will need to find the name and address of the statutory agent for that corporation. The statutory agent IS NOT THE DEFENDANT. This is the party upon whom service must be made on behalf of the corporation. You may obtain the statutory agent’s name by calling the Corporation Commission at (602) 542-3285.

When you file a Civil Claim, a summons will be issued and it is your responsibility to have the complaint and summons served on the party you are filing a claim against. You may hire a Court Constable to complete service. The fees for service may be obtained at the Justice Court. Once your claim is served, the defendant has 20 days from the date of service to file a response to your claim. If an answer is not filed within that time period you may apply for an application for default which tells the defendant he/she has 10 business days to file an answer to the claim. If an answer is still not filed within that time, you may submit your proof to the Court to have the Judge consider issuing a default judgment. Once an answer is filed the matter will be set for mediation. If no agreement is reached in mediation, your case will then be set for a court trial to be heard in front of a judge.