How to File a Small Claim in Baltimore City

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Filing a small claim in Baltimore City, Maryland is very simple. However, your claim amount needs to be less than $5000. You have to make sure your claim is only to receive money and not to recover property from someone or even to get some service done. You cannot have any written questions or written oaths for your defendants as this is not allowed in Baltimore City Small Claims Court. You can refer to the Small Claims Guide on http://www.courts.state.md.us/district/forms/civil/dccv001br.html to obtain complete information on how to file small claims in Baltimore City, Maryland.

 

If you have tried all methods to resolve your claim like talking to the defendant, writing letter or even mediation and have failed to come to any sort of conclusion, it is very much recommended to file a small claim in the Small Claims Court of Baltimore City, Maryland. However, you need to keep in mind that in order to file a small claim in Baltimore City, your defendant has to be a resident of the city or the incident of breach or injury must have occurred in Baltimore city.

 

Before you file a small claim in Baltimore city, you will have to fill up a form called the Complaint form. This complaint form will contain details like your contact details, your defendant’s contact details, the reason why you are filing a claim and the amount of money that you are claiming. You can download your form from http://www.courts.state.md.us/district/forms/civil/dccv001.pdf. In Baltimore City, your attorney can also file your complaint form, in which case, his details will be mentioned in the Complaint form.

 

Once you fill up your complaint form, you will have to file it in the Small Claims Court of Baltimore city along with some filing fees. If you want the defendant to be served by the court, you will have to pay a fee for that as well. In case the court serves the defendant, it will also have to provide a proof that the defendant has been served with the notice. Once this is done, you will have to prepare yourself for the trial and this involves gathering evidences that will help you win your case. In this situation, if you require legal advice, you can even find one on http://www.superpages.com/yellowpages/C-Lawyers/S-MD/T-Baltimore/. However do remember that a lawyer cannot represent you in your trial.