How do you start a Civil Claim?
- Civil litigation is the type of Court proceeding which take place if the legal dispute relates to a civil case and if the case involves a person’s private rights and liabilities
- If you are involved in a civil case and seeking to set right an undesirable situation, you may wish to commence civil litigation proceedings to pursue a civil claim against the wrongful party.
- A civil case or civil action is started by preparing and filing written documents according to a set of rules and guidelines administered by the Court.
- The same rules and guidelines set out will apply to regardless of whether the case is being conducted by a lawyer or a party who is representing himself.
- A civil case can be started in 2 ways:
- By filing a document known as a Writ of Summons
- This route is generally used when the case involves numerous and significant disputes relating to the facts of the case
- The Writ of Summons must generally state the key information relating to the claim, such as:
- Cause of action: this is the basis and reason for the claim.
- Remedies: these are the types and form of redress or corrective action which you are seeking to obtain if you succeed in the claim.
- This information is usually set out in a separate document known as the Statement of Claim.
- It is more common for cases to be started by a Writ of Summons than by an Originating Summons.
- By filing a document known as an Originating Summons:
- This route is generally used when the case involves a specific application or request being made to the Court to decide on how a particular document should be interpreted.
- Some laws also state that a case must be started through an Originating Summons.
