Bringing a Claim to Court
Before issuing proceedings
Identifying your Defendant
As the person bringing the claim (the 'Plaintiff'), you must identify your Defendant correctly. If you do not, your claim may be dismissed, and costs may be granted against you.
Your Defendant is the person or company against whom you are bringing your claim. For instance they may be the person you had a contract with, or the person you say injured you.
Your Defendant can be a person, a person with a trading name or a limited company.
You may wish to contact the Jersey Financial Services Commission on +44 (0) 1534 822000 or go to Jersey Financial Services Commission for help to identify your Defendant. If your Defendant does not reside in Jersey, different rules apply and you should call the Greffier for advice.
Sending a claim letter to your Defendant
Before you bring a claim to Court, you must post a claim letter to your Defendant. Your claim letter will advise them that you will bring a claim to the Petty Debts Court if they fail to pay the money claimed within 7 days (for a claim up to £10,000) or within 14 days (for a claim above £10,000).
This letter must contain:
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your full name and address
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the correct full name and address for your Defendant
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a clear description of your claim
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the amount of money you are claiming
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an invitation to resolve the dispute without having to go to Court
What will it cost?
To bring a claim to Court, you must pay a Court fee. If your claim is not disputed by the Defendant, you can reclaim that Court fee from them, plus fixed costs which are a contribution for the time and effort spent in bringing your claim. Fees and fixed costs vary depending on how much your claim is for.
Petty Debt Court Fees and fixed costs
You need to pay your Court fee at Customer and Local Services, La Motte Street, St. Helier. They can be contacted on +44 (0) 1534 444444. You must bring your Treasury receipt with you when you bring your Summons and Claim Summary to the Magistrate's Court Greffe (see bringing your claim to the Greffe) for the Greffier who will need it to process your claim. If you withdraw your claim before 1pm on the Monday before the Court date, you will get your Court fee back.
Preparing your Summons and Claim Summary
Before you can bring your Defendant to Court, you must let the 7 days or 14 days given in your claim letter pass. If no payment has been received at the end of this period and you wish to bring a claim, you must complete a Summons and a Claim Summary.
Guidance notes are available to help you complete the forms.
A list of examples will help you to describe your claim depending on what it is in relation to.
If your claim is for arrears of maintenance
If the defendant owes you child maintenance and/or sums relating to other expenses for your child and you have an Order from the Royal Court (Family Division) or a private agreement with them, the process for bringing a claim to the Petty Debts Court is the same as for any other monetary claim but you should complete a specific Summons and Claim Summary.
When you come to the Magistrate's Court to have your claim considered, you should bring a copy of the Royal Court Order or private agreement.
If you have an earlier Petty Debts Court Judgment in relation to arrears of maintenance, contact the Greffier for guidance on how to apply to the Court for an ongoing wage arrest against the defendant. This could prevent you from having to take them to Court again in the future. The Greffier can give you the forms required to do this.
Bringing your claim to the Greffe
Once you have completed your Summons and Claim Summary and have paid your Court fee, bring them to the Magistrate's Court Greffe with a copy of your claim letter (this should be no older than 3 months) and a stamped envelope addressed to your Defendant(s).
The Greffier will give you a date for your case to be heard and will post your Summons to the Defendant (for eviction cases, see evictions guidance regarding personal service).
If the Defendant pays the debt before the hearing date, you must immediately contact the Greffier so that the case can be removed from the list.
Your first court hearing
Unless your claim is settled before the hearing date, you must attend in person or be represented by a lawyer. A friend or relative cannot attend on your behalf.
If you feel you or your Defendant would benefit from an interpreter, ensure you inform the Court at least a week before the hearing date (see Information in other languages and interpreters).
If the Defendant does not attend, you may ask the Court for a Judgment ordering them to pay the sum claimed, together with your Court fee and fixed costs.
If the Defendant attends, the Judge will ask you both to briefly explain your claim and defence. They will not make a decision that day, so you do not need to bring all of your evidence for your claim or defence.
If the Defendant contests the claim (denies that the money is owed, either in full or part), the Court will direct both parties to attend mediation. A date will be set for mediation to take place.
Mediation
The vast majority of cases brought to Court each year are resolved at mediation. It is a free service offered by the Court to give parties a chance to resolve their dispute and avoid spending a long time preparing for a stressful and potentially costly trial. Mediations are held in private.
At your appointment, you and your Defendant work with a trained neutral mediator who listens to your views and helps you to negotiate a settlement. The mediator won't try to force you to reach an agreement.
For mediation to work, you should:
- participate in good faith with the intention of finding an agreement,
- work with the mediator to find a solution,
- listen to the points raised by the other party,
- be willing to compromise,
- have the authority to agree a settlement.
If you resolve the dispute at mediation, you and your Defendant will sign a mediation agreement, the terms of which are binding. This means you must comply with them.
If mediation fails, your case will progress to trial.
Pleadings
If you are going to trial, the Court will order the Plaintiff to prepare a Statement of Claim and the Defendant to reply to the Statement of Claim in an Answer (this may also include a Counterclaim). These documents are called Pleadings.
The Court will set a timetable to allow you to complete your Pleadings. These Court Orders, which you must comply with, are called Directions and will be given to you in writing.
Guidance on how to prepare your Pleadings.
Directions hearing
At the next Court hearing, the Judge will look at your Pleadings and confirm whether they explain your claim and the defence (and any counterclaim) well enough for the trial Judge to understand the case. If the pleadings are acceptable, the Judge will set a new timetable that requires you to produce all documents you will rely on at the trial. These documents are called your evidence. In addition the Judge may order you to present your own evidence as a sworn written statement. This will need to be sworn in front of a lawyer, and will form your own evidence at trial. The Judge will also fix a date for the trial and ask if you wish to bring any witnesses. There is a fee of £35 payable by the Plaintiff on listing the claim for trial.
If the Pleadings are unclear or information is missing, the Judge may adjourn the case to allow more time for you or the Defendant to amend your Pleadings.
Trial
On the day of your trial, you and your witnesses will take the oath (or be affirmed) to give evidence. The Judge might ask you to clarify some aspects of your claim or evidence and the other party will ask you questions.
This is called cross-examination. Once both parties (and their witnesses) have given evidence, the Court will either give its decision and explain its reasons or adjourn the case to make its decision.
Once the decision has been made, the Greffier will prepare an Act of Court detailing the Judgment and will inform you when you can collect it from the Court.