BEFORE YOU FILE

The Small Claims Court is not permitted to locate the Defendant for you, to prepare your case for you, or to make the Defendant pay you if the Defendant has no money and no job.

You should first ask yourself:

  1. Does the Defendant have the money to pay you?
  2. Will the Defendant voluntarily pay you if you win?
  3. Are you willing to spend additional time and effort to force the Defendant to pay the judgment and your filing fee?

If your answer to one of the above questions is “no,” you may not want to proceed with your claim. However, if you choose to proceed, you need to determine the following before preparing the necessary forms:

  1. Does the Small Claims Court have the authority (jurisdiction) to hear your case? (See page 3)
  2. Is Delaware County the proper location (venue) for filing your claim? (See page 4)
  3. Who are the parties in your case? (See page 5)
  4. Is it too late under the Statute of Limitations to file your claim? (See page 6)

If you could answer “yes” to Questions 1 and 2 and “no” to Question 4 then you may proceed in filing your small claims action in this county.

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