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Education for Justice |
FACT SHEET C-2 |
Fall
2010 |
WHAT TO DO IF YOU ARE SUED
Are you being sued in
If it is Conciliation
Court, the papers will come from the Court if the claim is under $2,500. If it is over $2,500 they will come from the
person suing you. You will probably get
them in the mail. They will tell you the
time and date of the hearing and give you a short statement of the claim.
If it is District
Court, the papers will come from the people suing you, or their
lawyer. The papers need to be “served”. This usually means that the papers are handed
to you or someone in your household. The
papers will not have a court date on them.
CONCILIATION COURT
Conciliation Court is a small claims court for cases up to
$7,500. You do not need a lawyer in
You can settle your
case with an agreement. For example,
you can agree to pay the other side some money, but not as much as they asked
for. You might set up a payment
plan. Call or write the other side with
your proposal.
You and the other side could meet with a mediator before the
court date. Mediators are trained to
help settle disputes. Call
First Call for Help statewide at 211 (or (651) 291-0211from a cell phone), for
mediation programs in your area.
Put any agreement in
writing! Both parties must sign and
date it. Even though you have agreed to
a deal you need to take the agreement to court on your hearing date. This is so the court can make it into an
order. This will help protect you in
case there are problems later.
You must go to court
on time. If you do not, you will lose by default. If you cannot go, call the court right
away. If you miss court because you had
an emergency or never got the papers you have 20 days to ask for another
hearing. You need to show why you were
not there. If your emergency was that
you were in the hospital bring proof of that.
If you never got the papers tell the judge. In rare cases, you can ask for a new hearing
as much as 6 months later.
Prepare for court:
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Give yourself plenty of time before your court
date to get ready.
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Go watch a
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Write a list of everything you need to say.
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Talk to witnesses and ask them to come to the
hearing. A person coming to court is
much better than a written statement from them.
Some judges do not take a written statement. If an important witness does not want to go
to court ask the court clerk for a “subpoena”.
A subpoena is a court order that they have to go or bring evidence to
court.
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If you know the person suing you has papers or
evidence they do not want to show you before court, ask the court clerk about a
subpoena for the evidence.
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Practice stating your case to a friend as if you
are in court.
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Bring all your evidence to court: photos, letters, receipts, estimates,
leases. You need to prove your case and
show evidence that you do not owe the money they say you do.
At the hearing, be very
polite to the court and the other side. Don’t interrupt when others are
talking. Don’t get mad at what the other
side says. Your case depends on the impression you make!
If you lose, you have 20 days from the date of the order to
ask for a new trial in District Court.
Call a lawyer right away for help because District Court can be
complicated. You can be ordered to pay
the other side’s costs if you ask for a new trial and lose.
DISTRICT COURT
District Court is more complicated than
You must make a
written answer to the complaint within 20 days from the time you got the
papers. There is no special form,
you can write a letter. Make sure you
put important information from the complaint in your letter, like the names of
the parties or a case number if there is one.
Your answer must say why you do not owe the money that they claim. Mail your answer to the other side’s lawyer. If they do not have a lawyer, mail it to them
directly. Keep a copy for yourself. Write down the date you mailed it. If
you do not answer the complaint you will lose the case by default.
If you were sued and did not respond on time, see a lawyer
right away. Sometimes you can get the
case re-opened.
After you answer, you might get other papers. You must respond to ALL papers even if you
have already answered the complaint.
These papers can be called “Interrogatories,” “Requests for Documents,”
or “Request for Admission.” Do not ignore these papers. You must answer them. Keep copies for yourself. Be sure to go to all scheduled court dates.
The court will probably ask both sides to try to settle the
case. You and the other side can choose
a mediator to help you try to reach an agreement. You might agree to pay some of the money they
claim you owe, or to set up a payment plan.
If you are not using a lawyer, go to your county law library
to get more information about the court process and about the laws involved in
your case. If you have a trusted friend,
relative, or adviser, ask them to help you through the process. Prepare for court the same way as explained
above. Make sure you bring your copies of your answer and any other papers you
have responded to.
IF YOU LOSE IN COURT
If you lose in Conciliation Court or District Court, the
other side will get a judgment. This is
an order saying that you have to pay them the money. If you do not pay, they may try to collect
it. They can garnish (take money out of)
your paycheck or bank account. They can
also garnish your paycheck or bank account if you do not answer the complaint
in the time given or if you do not show up to court. Do not
ignore a lawsuit against you.
The law keeps a certain amount of your money safe from
garnishment. If you were on public aid
in the last 6 months, usually none of your money can be taken. See our fact sheet, C-4
Garnishment and Your Rights.
The judgment will stay on your record for at least 7
years. It will show up when you apply
for credit.
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MN Legal Services Coalition |
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alternate formats. These Fact Sheets are based on MN law. Fact Sheets are not a complete answer to a
legal problem. See a lawyer for advice. |
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document, go to www.lawhelpmn.org/LASMfactsheets.