These instructions will focus on the actual procedure of filing a small claims suit in Michigan and will inform you in detail all of the various forms needed for process, what to do with them, and how to collect. This assumes that you know you have a legitimate cause to sue, and you can back it up with documentation.
Steps
Part 1
Part 1 of 4:
Obtaining and Filing "Affidavit and Claim" (Form DC84)
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Acquire the "Affidavit and Claim" form (Form DC84). An affidavit is a sworn statement that you declare to be true, and the information you enter on this form is your written word which will be used in court.
- Go to the District Court in the district in which the offense occurred, where the defendant lives (or lived when the offense occurred), or where the defendant operates a business.
- You will need to know the defendant's address in order to file and start this process.
- Approach the Court Clerk's office, state your intention, and ask them for form DC84 which is an affidavit for small claims. This form will cost $1.00.
- Take the form home, and carefully fill it out, but do not sign it yet. This form comes with its own set of instructions and is rather straight forward.
- The maximum amount you can sue for in small claims court is $5,000.00
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Notarize and file. A notary is a public officer who acts as an official witness and is trusted to authenticate writings such as deeds and affidavits. An internet search should quickly reveal a notary public near you.
- After filling out the form at home you will need to have it notarized. Most notary public can do this for $10.00 or less. You will sign the form here, in the presence of the notary public official.
- Take your notarized form back to court and be prepared to pay a substantial fee to file.
- You are not expected to do this all in one day. You can buy the form one day, and return the notarized form a week later, or however long you need.
- If the claim is for $600.00 or less, the fee is $25.00
- If the claim is more than $600.00 but less than $1,750.00, the fee is $45.00
- if the claim is more than $1,750.00 and up to $5,000.00, the fee is $65.00
- Keep an accurate record of all of the fees you incur during this process because you can add them to your claim later if you win.
- After paying your fee, the clerk will set a court date (usually 60 days out), remove the top copy and return the rest to you.
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Part 2
Part 2 of 4:
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Select your process server. A process server is a third-party entity who is entrusted by the court and tasked with handing over these court documents directly to the defendant in person.
- You are on your own in this. It's on you to arrange to have the defendant served.
- Here you will incur more cost, as you will need to hire the court officer or official process server to physically serve the defendant his copy of the affidavit.
- If the defendant still resides in the district, this will be rather easy because the court clerk can hire the process server on your behalf. You can arrange for this when you file the affidavit in Part 1.
- If the defendant does not live in the district, you will need to contact the district court in which he or she currently lives. They can provide you with a list of official process servers whom you can hire.
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Hire your process server.
- The cost to have this server drive to your defendant's house, and directly serve them these court documents will vary. Typically the fee is $25.00 plus mileage.
- You will need to provide them with the Defendant copy and the Proof of Service copy.
- The defendant must be served seven days prior to the hearing date, so do not procrastinate hiring your process server.
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Part 3
Part 3 of 4:
Handling the Court Hearing
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Arrive early. Be sure to get to court at least half an hour early on your date. This will give you time to get your thoughts and documents in order.
- There is often a line of people waiting to get signed in, and everybody will be as confused and nervous as you.
- You should have practiced stating your side of the story many times over, so when the judge calls your case number you can approach your podium and deliver your argument calmly and precisely.
- There are three scenarios regarding the outcome. You will either win, lose or the defendant won't show. If you don't show or are too late, the case will be dismissed.
- If you lose, there are no appeals in this process; the judge's word is final.
- If the defendant fails to show you will win by default, but the judge will still have you state your case to be sure it's not frivolous.
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Wait for the outcome.
- If the defendant did indeed show, and you still won, the judge will set the damages to the amount you originally claimed, plus he/she will add additional court costs.
- This additional cost is the fee you originally paid to file, plus the amount you paid to the process server. These costs are now a burden to the defendant!
- If the defendant cannot pay the full amount on that day, the judge will order them to pay in full within 21 days, or enter into a payment arrangement of some sort.
- If the defendant failed to show, the same damages will be set as above, but it will be on you to inform them (via a process server again) of the judgment.
- In either case, if the defendant does not show or if he/she fails to pay the court, it will be on YOU to collect the money!
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Part 4
Part 4 of 4:
Collecting Your Money
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Find out what money or assets they have (Form MC11).
- Assuming the defendant isn't going to volunteer personal information such as bank balances, salary, driver license numbers etc. you will need to file a Discovery Subpoena (MC11), otherwise known as Subpoena to Appear/Produce.
- You will need to wait 21 days before you can actually file this form, and like the others it will cost $1.00 from the clerks office.
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Fill and file a Discovery Subpoena (MC11).
- After purchasing this form, fill-out only the very top portion of the first page (names), and the very bottom portion of the second page "AFFIDAVIT FOR JUDGMENT DEBTOR EXAMINATION", while leaving the court address and hearing dates blank.
- Much of the form will remain blank and will be filled in later by the court and the process server.
- Sometime after 21 days, post-judgment, have the form notarized (bottom portion). Remember, do not sign it until you're in the presence of the notary.
- Bring the notarized form back to the court clerk, and they will hand it to the judge for signing. There will be a $15.00 fee to file this form.
- Depending on the judge's workload, the clerk will likely ask you to come back in a few days to actually retrieve the completed form.
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Serve the defendant with a subpoena (if the defendant failed to appear).
- Again you will have to hire your process server, and again pay them to serve your defendant.
- Give the process server both pages of the document, you do not keep a copy. Although, you could always make a photocopy beforehand for your records.
- The purpose of this whole procedure is to force the defendant, by law, to appear before court and reveal how much money (or property) they actually have, so payments can be made.
- Again, keep track of your costs because you can add these to your collection later.
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Consider the three options for collecting: MC12, MC13, and MC52.
- If the defendant shows you can file a "Periodic Writ of Garnishment" (Form MC12). This form garnishes the defendant's wages on a regular basis.
- Another option if the defendant shows is "Non-Periodic Writ of Garnishment" (Form MC13). This form allows for a one-off garnishment, but you can file additional ones later.
- The last is an "Income Tax Garnishment" form (Form MC52). This form allows you to intercept their state income tax return. From here-on, we'll follow this form of garnishment.
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Fill out the form to intercept the income tax return (Form MC52).
- Purchase Form MC52 from the court clerk; again this form will cost $1.00.
- You only have to fill out the top half of this form, the names and the "REQUEST" section.
- Here you can add any additional cost you incurred to date.
- Fortunately you will not have to have this form notarized.
- The clerk will stamp it, tear off the top copy, and return the rest to you right away. There will be a $15.00 fee to file this.
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Serve the Writ for Garnishment.
- Fortunately you will not need to hire your process server for this task, as the Michigan Dept. of Treasury will take care of it this time.
- Tear off your copy and send the remaining copies to the State Department (address is on the form) along with a check or money order for $6.00.
- You can file as early as November 1st for the following tax year.
- The State will not notify you whether they were successful in contacting the defendant.
- With some luck you will finally receive a Notice of Garnishment from the State. They will send the defendants' Income tax return to the court, who will subtract it from the balance owed, and finally, send you a check.
- If there is still more money owed, you'll have to file this garnishment form again next year (or after November 1st).
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Tips
- Although you can find these forms online and print them your self for free, they won't do much good because each form requires several copies for distribution to different parties. The "real" forms that you purchase at court are a carbon copied stack and contain security features such as Social Security number blackout.Thanks
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Warnings
- You are truly on your own in this process. You cannot hire a lawyer to represent you in court, and the court clerks won't be of any help in filling out these forms. Please be patient though, because the court clerks are not being rude or lazy, they are actually bound by law not to help you! They are not lawyers, and therefore it would be against the law for them to do offer any legal advice.Thanks
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