The 6th Judicial District
Small Claims Information
Forms information available below
WHAT IS SMALL CLAIMS
COURT?
The purpose of small claims court is to provide an informal
procedure for people to settle small legal disagreements and collections
without an attorney. There are no attorneys allowed, unless an attorney is
personally suing someone else or someone else is suing an attorney. In that
case, the other party is notified that they have the right to have an attorney
also, or they can proceed without an attorney. Each person involved in the suit
will have the opportunity to go to court and present their side of the case to
the District Magistrate Judge. Each side is also allowed to subpoena witnesses
and present exhibits to help prove their case. Then, from the
evidence provided by each party, the Judge rules on the case.
Procedures may vary from county to county in the state of Kansas.
So you could check with the Clerk of the District Court office if you are
contemplating filing a small claims case in another county.
Even though you may obtain judgment in Small Claims Court, the
Court is not responsible for collections of the same. However, the Clerk of the
District Court office will provide written instructions and form packets to
assist you in doing garnishments for wages and/or bank accounts or you may
obtain the forms from the Kansas Judicial Council website at /council. Forms are also available below for your use.
The job of the Clerk of the District Court personnel is to process
cases. They cannot give you legal advice.
WHO CAN BE SUED IN SMALL
CLAIMS COURT?
Any person or business may sue any person(s) or business that they
believe owes them money. You must file the case in the county where that
person(s) or business resides, or in the county that the transaction took place
if the defendant was a resident at the time, or the county where the defendant
can be served with a summons.
REQUIREMENTS TO FILE A
SMALL CLAIMS COURT CASE:
Restrictions that apply to small claims cases:
1.
Claims for money or
property must be less than $4000.00 in value.
2.
A person filing must be
18 years of age, or be represented by someone 18 or over. The person being sued
must be 18 years of age.
3.
There cannot be more
than ten (10) small claims cases filed by one individual or business in this
court during any calendar year.
4.
There
are two different filing fees required to file or begin a proceeding in small
claims court. The filing fee for a claim of up to and including
$500.00 is $51.50. The filing fee for filing a claim from $500.01 to $4000.00
is $71.50.
5.
The person filing the
case must fill out a form called a Petition. This form is provided by the Clerk
of the District Court office. The Petition has to be signed before a Notary
Public or one of the employees in the Clerk of the District Court office.
6.
The person being sued
must be able to be located so they can be legally served or given an official
summons (or notice to appear) in court. It is your responsibility to furnish
the address to the Clerk's office.
HOW DO I FILE A SMALL
CLAIMS CASE?
If your claim meets all of the requirements above, you should go
to the Clerk of the District Court office in the appropriate county and ask to
file a small claims case. You will be given a Petition to complete stating your
claim. The form may either be typed or hand written. If the form is hand
written, please print so that the information is readable. Upon signing the
Petition before a notary public or someone in the Clerk of the District Court
office and paying of the filing fee as required, a hearing date is scheduled. A
Summons and Defendant's Claim will be issued to the sheriff for service on the
defendant. There is a $10.00 sheriff's service of process fee. A separate
check or money order made payable to the "County Sheriff's Office"
must accompany your petition. Do not combine the sheriff's fee with a check or
money order for the filing fee, which is to be made payable to "Clerk of
District Court."
If you settle the case before the hearing date, notify the court
at once so that the case can be dismissed.
YOUR
DAY IN COURT
The proceedings in small claims court are conducted informally by
the judge. Bring whatever evidence, documents, or other proof you need to
support your case. You may subpoena witnesses and you or the judge may question
them about the case. A $10.00 witness fee and mileage must be paid to subpoena
a witness to insure a witness'' appearance in court. There is a $10.00
sheriff's service of process fee that must accompany the subpoena. For each
witness being subpoenaed, a check or money order made payable to "County
Sheriff's Office" must be provided by party wishing to subpoena witnesses.
The defendant will also be allowed to present their side of the case to the
judge. If the defendant has filed a counterclaim against you
that will be heard at the same time. The judge may make a decision
immediately after hearing both sides or he may continue the case to another
date. If the defendant was served and does not show up for the hearing, the
judge may declare the defendant to be in default and award judgment to the
plaintiff.
COLLECTING YOUR MONEY OR
PROPERTY
The Judgment Creditor is the person or business who has won the
case. The Judgment Debtor is the loser of the case. A copy of the Journal Entry
of Judgment is furnished to the Judgment Creditor and the Judgment Debtor. A
form entitled ""Judgment Debtor''s
Statement of Assets"" will be attached to copy of the Journal Entry
of Judgment, which is given to the Judgment Creditor. If the judgment is not
paid or taken care of within 15 days, the copy of the Journal Entry of Judgment
with the attached Judgment Debtor''s Statement of
Assets form is to be mailed by the Judgment Creditor to the Judgment Debtor by
mail. The Judgment Creditor needs to obtain from the Post Office a certificate
of mailing form (P.S. Form 3817). This form needs to be filed in the office of
District Court to show the date that the forms were mailed to the Judgment
Debtor. The Judgment Debtor has 30 days from the date of mailing to either pay
the judgment or complete the form and return it to the Clerk of the District
Court office. If they do not complete the form, at the request of the Judgment
Creditor, the Judgment Debtor will be summoned back to court. This form is used
to help collect the judgment by issuance of garnishments against wages or a
bank account.
The Judgment Debtor (loser) has 10 days after judgment is entered
to file an appeal in writing to get a new hearing from a different judge. The
Clerk of the District Court does have a Notice of Appeal form that you may
complete. The filing fee for a small claims appeal is $178.00. Someone appealing a small claims case or
attempting to collect a judgment granted in a small claims case does have the
right to hire an attorney to assist them.
WHAT IF YOU ARE BEING
SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT?
If you are being sued in small claims court and you owe the full
amount of money or property as stated in the Petition, you may pay what you
owe, and you will not have to appear in court. Be sure the court is notified in
writing of such a settlement. If you have a claim against the plaintiff in
connection with the same matter that their claim concerns, you may fill out a
""Defendant's Claim"" form that came with the summons.
Return it as soon as possible to the court where the hearing is to be held and mail
a copy to the person suing you.
If you do not settle the claim out of court, then you must appear
in court at the time scheduled for trial or the judge may rule against you.
Bring with you any documents, etc., that will support your side of the claim,
and any witnesses who can speak on your behalf. You may also subpoena
witnesses, for a fee.
Small Claims Forms
Choose from PDF for viewing/printing, WordPerfect
for downloading/processing, or Rich Text Format for
downloading/processing. If you open the forms in WordPerfect or Rich Text
Format, there may appear to be some differences in the way some of the
information appears on the screen. This is because of the differences in
computers. You may edit the documents so that the format appears correct on
your screen and print out the form.
Small Claims forms are available in Word, Rich Text Format, or PDF.
URL:/dstcts/6smclaimsinfo.htm
Updated: February 28, 2013