Civil and Small Claims Information

(806) 468-5660

SMALL CLAIMS & JUSTICE CIVIL COURT INFORMATION

There are some differences in procedure and jurisdiction between Small Claims Court and Justice Civil Court. In most cases, the Plaintiff has an option of filing the suit in either court.

The following suits must be filed in Justice Civil Court:

1. Plaintiff is an assignee of the claim or person seeking to bring action on an assigned

claim.

2. Plaintiff is primarily or secondarily engaged in the business of lending money at interest.

3. Plaintiff is a collection agency or a collection agent.

4. Civil matter within jurisdictional amount.

5. Foreclosure of mortgage or enforce lien on personal property.

Suits filed in Small Claims Court:

1. Suits for recovery of money only.

In either case, the plaintiff will be filing a civil suit, not a criminal case. If the Plaintiff wins in Court, the defendant can not be forced to pay the plaintiff. The Judge cannot order the defendant to pay nor will the defendant be arrested for not paying. The plaintiff will have a Judgement signed by the Court and may follow certain procedures to collect the judgment.

The Plaintiff may file in either court for amounts from $1.00 to $5,000.00, however if the amount exceeds $5,000.00 the plaintiff may not reduce the amount to fit in this court, it must be filed in a higher court.

It is important that the plaintiff understand that the defendant must be sued in their proper legal capacity.

1. Personally: where an individual is responsible to the plaintiff for damages.

2. Proprietor or partnership: A business that is not incorporated but is individually owned or has on file with the County Clerk, an assumed name certificate. Example: John Smith dba Greenhouse Supply.

3. Corporation: A business that is incorporated. It is necessary to know the individual who is able to accept service on behalf of the corporation, either the president or the registered agent of the corporation. You may get this information from the Secretary of State at 512-463-5555 or by e-mail at corpinfo@sos.state.tx.us. You must have this information prior to filing, the clerks will not obtain this information for you, nor tell you who to file on or who to serve.

Failure to comply with these provisions may result in the case being dismissed and forfeiting al costs.

Listed below are the differences between the two courts. Please read carefully and decide which court you wish to file in. Both types will be filed in this office. If you are not sure which court to file in you must contact a private attorney. The clerks will not be able to decide for you nor give you any legal advise.

Justice Civil Court Small Claims Court

Jurisdiction: $1.00 to $5,000.00 Jurisdiction: $1.00 to $5,000.00

Filing Fee: $17.00 + service fees Filing Fee: $12.00 + service fees

The Texas Rules of Procedure and the Texas The Texas Rules of Procedure and the Texas

Rules of Evidence do apply. Rules of Evidence do not apply.

May sue for the return of property or value thereof. Suing for recovery of money only.

An individual or individual doing business may represent No attorney is required to represent either party,

himself or be represented by an attorney. however, either party may hire an attorney for

Corporations or Associations must be represented representation.

by an attorney. Failure to comply with this rule may result

in the case being dismissed.

Only the plaintiff or plaintiff’s attorney may file pleadings The plaintiff, plaintiff’s attorney or any other

and/or appear in Court. authorized agent may file pleadings, and/or

Only the defendant or defendant’s attorney may file appear in court. The defendant, defendant’s

pleadings and/or appear in court. attorney or authorized agent may file pleadings

and/or appear in Court.

Information needed to file:

You must fill out the attached PLAINTIFF’S PETITION and bring it to our office. The filing fee and service fee will be collected at this time. In filling out the petition, the correct name and physical address must be on the petition. If filing against a business or corporation the proper name of the business or corporation and name of individual to be served must be on the form.

Where to file:

The suit should be filed in the county and precinct in which the defendant resides or in the county and precinct where the incident (damages) occurred.

Costs of filing:

The filing fee for Small Claims Court is $12.00 and for Justice Civil Court is $17.00. The filing fee and the service fee will be collected at the time of filing.

Determining service fees:

The service fee is collected for serving the citation to each defendant by the sheriff’s office or constable. Service fees for Randall County and Potter County are $60.00. If the defendant resides in another county but you wish to file the suit in this court, you will need to contact the Court to determine the service fees. The service fees are different in other counties. This court will collect the filing fee and service fee and the clerk will submit the citations to the appropriate department/county for service.

Filing of Suit:

Bring to this office, the Plaintiff’s petition (this must be filled out and notarized or signed in front of a clerk in this office) along with the total amount of filing fee + service fee(s). Cash, local check or money order will be accepted.

Issuance of citation:

Once the case is filed, a citation will be issued to the Sheriff or Constable in the county where the defendant is located. Citations are usually served within 10 days, however, sometimes it does take longer. The department will try indefinitely to serve the papers to the defendant, however, if the defendant has moved or cannot be found at the address provided, the citation will be returned to our office unserved. The service fee is non-refundable if an effort was made to serve the citation. If you obtain a new address for the defendant, an amended citation may be issued, however, you will be required to pay a second service fee. If a citation is not served on the defendant, a judgment cannot be entered against them.

Defendant’s Answer:

Once the citation has been served to the defendant, the defendant will have until the Monday following ten days from the date of service to file an answer with the court. If the defendant files a denial on the case, a hearing will be set by the clerk giving both parties at least 15 days notice. If the defendant files a consent to owing the claim, they will be instructed to contact the plaintiff to pay the claim. If the defendant does not follow through, you may contact the court to have the case set for a hearing in order to obtain judgment.

Either party may request a Jury Trial. A $5.00 jury fee will be collected from the party requesting a jury and the case will be set on the jury docket.

If the defendant fails to file an answer with the court, the plaintiff will be entitled to obtain a default judgment. The Plaintiff will be required to appear before the Judge to prove the case.

Hearing:

Both sides will present any and all evidence to the Judge or Jury at the hearing. The burden of proof lies with the Plaintiff. It will be necessary to provide substantial evidence to support the claim. Bring any paperwork or evidence which you feel may be important to proving the case. You may have as many witnesses as you wish appear with you to give testimony. Avoid “heresay” evidence such as affidavits, witness statements, garage estimates and police reports. Please have these witnesses appear with you, as the other party has a right to question them also. If they will not appear voluntarily, you may have the court issue a subpoena for any party that you feel may have pertinent testimony. Subpoena fees are $55.00 each and must be paid and requested at least 5 days prior to the hearing. There is also a $10.00 fee which must be attached to the subpoena as a witness fee.

Judgment:

Once the Judge/Jury has heard all evidence presented, a Judgment will be issued for all, part or none of the claim. A Judgment is the official written decision of the Court.

Either party has the right to appeal the decision of the court. The proper paperwork (along with a $10.00 transcript fee and $165.00 filing fee) must be filed with the clerk within 10 days from the date the judgment was signed. After this, the judgment becomes final. The clerks will not fill out any appeal paperwork nor instruct you how to file. You will be required to contact an attorney for legal questions and procedures.

Collecting your judgment:

Abstract of judgment:

An abstract may be obtained from the clerk after 10 days from the date of judgment at the cost of $5.00. The plaintiff must request the issuance of an abstract from the court. The document must be filed by the plaintiff with the County Clerk’s office. It may be filed in any county within the State of Texas. There is a charge of approximately $9.00 to file the document. An abstract recorded with the county clerk’s office constitutes a lien on the real property of a defendant located in the county in which the abstract is recorded. It is also reported to the Credit Bureau. If you believe that the defendant has property in more than one county, you may file the abstract with more than one county. The abstract continues for a period of ten years except if the judgment becomes dormant. To keep the judgment from becoming dormant, you must have a

Writ of Execution issued within ten years after the judgment is rendered.

Writ of Execution:

A writ of execution may be issued after 30 days from the date of judgment at the cost of $130.00. This document is issued to the Sheriff or Constable to collect the judgment. The Writ directs the Sheriff or Constable to contact the judgment debtor (defendant) and seize and sell any non-exempt property, real and personal, and deliver the proceeds to you to satisfy the judgment. (See attached page for exempt property) If the defendant does not have any non-exempt property the writ will be returned Nulla Bona, which means they did not collect the judgment.

** An alternative to going through the time and expense of filing in Small Claims Court would be to go through mediation. You may contact the Panhandle Regional Planning Commission for dispute resolution. A pamphlet is attached.

PLAINTIFF’S PETITION

Court use only

CLAY HOUDASHELL CAUSE NO. ___________

JUSTICE OF THE PEACE, PCT 4

RANDALL COUNTY, TEXAS FILE DATE:_____________

PLAINTIFF(S) _____________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________

ADDRESS _________________________________________________________________________________________

CITY & STATE ______________________________ZIP________PHONE_____________________________________

FILES SUIT AGAINST:

DEFENDANT(S) __________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

ADDRESS ________________________________________________________________________________________

CITY & STATE ________________________________ZIP_______PHONE___________________________________

If known: Driver’s License No._______________________ Date of Birth ______________________________________

Social Security No.__________________________________________________________________________________

PLAINTIFF SUES FOR $______________, PLUS ALL COSTS OF COURT.

State brief description of what suit is for.Include dates and addresses when applicable.

If seeking to recover return of property or value of property, list accurate description of property.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Plaintiff swears there are no counterclaims existing in favor of the Defendant against the Plaintiff

____________________________

Plaintiff’s Signature

Sworn to and subscribed before me this _________ day of __________________, ______.

____________________________________________

Clerk of the Court or Notary Public Notary Seal