How to File a Small Claims Case How to File a Small Claims Case Clark County, Nevada Contents Preparing your Documents for E-Filing ...................................................................... 1 Documents Required for E-filing ..................................................................................... 1 Preparing to E-File & Serve .............................................................................................. 1 Small Claims Processing.............................................................................................. 2 Filing the Smalls Claims Complaint ................................................................................ 2 E-Filing Small Claims Cases ........................................................................................ 3 January 2012 ii How to File a Small Claims Case Preparing your Documents for E-Filing Suing an individual is relatively straightforward, suing a business, however, requires you to determine the true name of the business, as many businesses operate under so-called “fictitious” names. Businesses operate as sole proprietorships, partnerships, corporations, etc. It is important to identify the correct defendant when filing a suit. The Documents Required for E-filing section describes the documents required for e-filing your case, as well as the specific instructions associated with each document type. The E-Filing Landlord Complaint for Summary Eviction section provides instructions on how to complete your Straight Eviction Landlord Filing using File & Serve. Documents Required for E-filing The following lists the documents needed for e-filing: • Small Claims Complaint • Small Claims Chapter 604A or 97A.165 • Demand Letter Preparing to E-File & Serve Perform the following steps to ensure a successfully e-file: 1. Check to ensure all documents are completed and signed. 2. Convert all documents you plan to e-file into Word, Word Perfect, Tiff, .txt, or PDF. Note: Attorney’s may use their existing document templates and forms as long as the forms have the same required information as the preferred forms in the self-help section. 3. Check the Court Rules for required forms, pleadings, and other filings. 4. Compile all documents into a working directory to have easy access while uploading files to e-file. 5. Review and update the Service Contacts attached to the case. Once the above steps are completed, proceed to the Odyssey File & Serve site to submit a filing transaction. January 2012 1 How to File a Small Claims Case Small Claims Processing Suing an individual is relatively straightforward, suing a business, however, requires you to determine the true name of the business, as many businesses operate under so-called “fictitious” names. Businesses operate as sole proprietorships, partnerships, corporations, etc. It is important to identify the correct defendant when filing a suit. If a business that you plan to sue is a corporation, verify the name and location of the corporation’s resident agent with the Secretary of State. A resident agent is a person or a business appointed by the corporation to accept Service of Complaints. If the defendant is another type of business entity, contact the licensing department where the defendant does business to determine the true name of the business. The following lists the licensing department for the State of Nevada: City of Las Vegas http://www3.lasvegasnevada.gov/Bus-license/Search.asp) Clark County http://sandgate.co.clark.nv.us/businessLicense/businessSearch/blindex.asp (702) 455- 4252 City of Henderson https://dsconline.cityofhenderson.com/BusinessLicense/BLQueryWrap.cfm (702) 565-2045 City of North Las Vegas (702) 633-1520 Filing the Smalls Claims Complaint The following lists the steps to file a Small Claims Complaint: 1. Send a Demand Letter to the Defendant via Certified Mail. Note: A 10-day waiting period is required after sending the Demand Letter to the Defendant before proceeding to file a Small Claims Complaint. 2. Proceed with filing a Small Claims Complaint if no response initiated by the Defendant to resolve the issue. 3. Use the Jurisdiction Locator to determine the jurisdiction to file the Complaint. Note: The Court will NOT reject your filing if you file in the wrong jurisdiction, although; the Referee/Judge may dismiss your case if you file in the wrong jurisdiction. 4. Create a Small Claims Complaint and file the complaint the court to initiate your case. Verify to ensure the correct Complaint is being completed for General Small Claims Complaint, Chapter 604A or NRS 97A.165 Complaints. Note: If you are suing a business, enter the businesses information in the Defendant’s name and address field. January 2012 2 How to File a Small Claims Case E-Filing Small Claims Cases Perform the following steps to e-file a Small Claims case: 1. Log into File & Serve. For instruction on registration, select the How to Register and Set Up an Account document on your court’s website. 2. Select the icon. Figure 1 – Las Vegas Justice Court-Civil Division File & Serve displays the New Case information including the Reference ID number. Figure 2 – New Case Reference ID number 3. Select a Case Type for your filing: a. Plaintiff is an Individual: b. Plaintiff is a Business AND the Complaint is not subject to Chapter 604A or NRS 97A.165: c. Plaintiff is a Business AND the Complaint is subject to Chapter 604A d. Plaintiff is a Business AND the Complaint is subject to NRS 97A.165 e. Plaintiff is a State Agency filing a Small Claims Complaint Figure 3 – Case Type selection 4. Select the Document Code. option, including the amount you are suing for as the Figure 4 – Document Code selection The Event Code and Fee Amount field populates. * This amount changes depending on the amount of the suit. Figure 5 – Event Code and Fee Amount January 2012 3 How to File a Small Claims Case 5. Enter the Plaintiff information as noted on the Complaint. Note: Select the button to add another Plaintiff if there are multiple Plaintiffs noted on the Complaint. Figure 6 – Add Plaintiff information 6. Enter the Defendant information as noted on the Complaint. Note: Select the button to add another Defendant if there are multiple Defendants noted on the Complaint. Figure 7 – Add Defendant information . 7. Click the Browse button to select a Lead Document from your computer. Figure 8 – Browse for Lead Document The Choose File window opens. January 2012 4 How to File a Small Claims Case Figure 9 – Choose file window 8. Select your (Smalls Claims Complaint) document from the files on your computer to attach as a Lead Document. Note: File & Serve supports the following document formats: wpd, .doc, .tiff, and .pdf). 9. Click the Open button to attach the Lead Document. The document name displays in the Lead Document field. Figure 10 – Lead Document field The Document Title field should match your pleading title and include the amount of your suit. Note: This field MUST BE in Proper Case format – Proper case format is Capital first letters and lowercase following letters, as noted below. Figure 11 – Document Title information 10. Enter the Submitter’s e-mail address in the Courtesy Copy field. E-mail addresses entered in the Courtesy Copy field will receive a copy of this filing. Note: Separate multiple e-mail addresses with a semi-colon. Figure 12 – Courtesy copy information field January 2012 5 How to File a Small Claims Case 11. Select an account to pay for the filing fees using the Account field drop-down list. Figure 13 – Account field 12. Select the button to submit the small claims case. Figure 14 – Submit button The E-filing Queue opens displaying an “S” under the Status/Action column, this indicates the filing is Submitted. File & Serve convert the documents and routes them to the Court. Figure 15 – E-File Queue Status column Once the item shows “P” for Pending status (should change in a matter of seconds), the Court has the filing for review. 6. Select the icon to view the Filing Details. The Details/Service window opens, displaying the E-File ID number. Figure 16 – Details/Service icon and E-File ID number 7. Note the E-file ID number for future reference. Note: The Submitter will receive email confirmation within 48 business hours with a courtesy copy of the e-filed document with a case number. A REJECTION email may be received indicating why the item was rejected. For further questions or concerns, please email the courts at [email protected]. Technical Support Assistance For assistance, contact Tyler Technologies through the following resources. Odyssey File & Serve Client Support Phone 1.800.297.5377 Odyssey File & Serve Client Support Hours 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. (CT) Monday through Friday Odyssey File & Serve Client Support E-mail [email protected] Odyssey File & Serve Client Support Website support.tyler-tsg.com January 2012 6
© Copyright 2024