Small Claims & Forms

Civil Disagreements of Less than $10,000

Justice Court can help you resolve disputes of less than $10,000, as long as one of the parties lives in Marion County. These disputes can take a variety of forms, including: contract disputes like failure to pay or failure to provide the contracted services; minor car accidents; lost property; damaged property; etc.

Justice Court has two different divisions that people can use to resolve a case: small claims division and civil division. The main differences between the divisions concern (1) filing fees; (2) whether lawyers are allowed; and (3) whether a judge or jury would decide the case.

Small Claims

• The small claims division resolves disputes of less than $10,000. Small claims cases have these attributes:
  

  • Lower court fees.

  • Usually do not involve lawyers. 

  • Pre-trial discovery (the process by which parties require the other party to provide certain documents and testimony to find out the facts of the case) is not allowed.

  • The case is decided by the judge.
    

Key Small Claims Forms

If you would like to start a small claims case, you will be the plaintiff.  The document below provides detailed instructions for plaintiffs.  The first documents you will need to file are the summons and complaint form.

Small Claims Instructions for Plaintiff Plaintiff's Summons and Complaint Form

If someone else has served you with a complaint, you are the defendant.  The document below provides detailed instructions for defendants.  The first document you will need to file is the answer.

Small Claims Instructions for Defendant Defendant's Answer Form

To ensure proper filing any Small Claims filings must be submitted before 4:30 p.m.

Other Small Claims Forms

Here are other forms that pertain to small claims cases.

Regular Civil Division

• The regular civil division resolves disputes between $750 and $10,000. Regular civil division cases have these attributes:
  

  • Higher court fees.

  • Lawyers are allowed.

  • Discovery is allowed.

  • The case could be decided by a judge or a six-person jury.
    

  • Because lawyers usually prefer to draft their own pleadings, the court does not provide forms for the regular civil division.
    

Mediation

Justice Court believes in helping people solve their own problems. Many times, people are able to come to a resolution everybody can live with by talking about their problem in mediation.

Justice Court does not currently have a formal mediation program, but Judge Kidd is willing to help the parties mediate their dispute if they would like his help. Because Judge Kidd is the only judge at Justice Court, in order to mediate, both parties would have to agree that they want Judge Kidd to be both their mediator and their trial court judge. If the parties want this, please inform the court clerk at least one week before trial.