|
General Civil Matters
This section provides information about general civil matters.
The information provided in the Self-Help Center is not legal advice.
The laws of Michigan do not allow the employees of the court or the
judge to give you legal advice. You should consult with an attorney
concerning your legal issues, but you do not need an attorney to file
a civil case. If you proceed with a general civil case without an attorney, you are acting
as your own attorney.
The following is a brief description of a general civil case. There
is no specific information available in this Self-Help Center to aid
you with the entire legal process in a general civil case. Because of
the complexity of general civil cases or the amount of money involved,
it may be advisable to contact
an attorney.
Many courts are offering mediation as an alternative to filing a landlord-tenant
or land contract forfeiture case. You may want to contact the court
clerk to see if a mediation program is available in your community.
Find the
court in your county >>.
Generally, a civil case is filed because of a disagreement between
two people, businesses or organizations. The disagreement usually involves
one person believing that he or she has been hurt or had 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 an 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 as well as the cost of serving the defendant.
Types of Civil Cases
The most common types of civil cases are small claims, landlord-tenant,
land contract forfeiture, civil infraction (both traffic and nontraffic)
and civil damage actions. For specific information about small claims,
landlord-tenant, land contract forfeiture, and civil infraction cases,
see the individual topics in the drop-down list from TOPICS
at the top of this page.
Where to File Civil Cases
The district court will handle the case if the amount of 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.
The circuit court will handle the case if the amount of the claim
is more than $25,000. 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 $3,000 or less, the plaintiff can
choose to file the case with the small claims division of the district
court. The defendant can agree to have the case remain in small claims
or can request the case be removed to the regular civil division.
An attorney may not represent you in the small claims division.
The probate court will handle a civil case that arises from a dispute
in a probate matter such as an estate, a trust, or a guardianship
or conservatorship. The amount of the claim is not relevant. The civil
case must be filed in the county where the probate court matter is
being handled. If there is no underlying probate matter, the civil
case must be filed in either the circuit court or district court based
on the amount of the claim.
Processing Civil Cases Generally
Except for small claims, civil infractions, landlord-tenant, and land
contract forfeiture cases, most civil cases are processed in the same
manner. A complaint must be filed, fees must be paid, a summons must be
issued, the parties must be served notice of the complaint, hearings must
be scheduled and noticed, answers must be given, and hearings must be
attended. The end result of the case will be entry of a judgment. General
information about court forms, fees, service, hearings, finding legal
information, and how the courts operate can be found in this Self-Help
Center by clicking on any of the topics in the horizontal bar at the top
of this page. Specific information about processing a general civil case
is not provided, but there are more
details about general case processing >>.
|
