Taking legal action against a person or a business is a process made easy by the Duval County civil department by filling in a small claim statement form.  Settlement amounts equivalent to $15,000 or less can be resolved at the court for small claims in Duval County.  For a settlement amount less than $5,000, a claim can be made online.  Legal names, addresses (also referred to as venues) and other relevant details have to be correct for you to receive a quick and clear judgment.

The name of the person in case of an individual, name of corporate in case of a business along with the officers names, names of parents or guardians in the case of minors have to be filled in accurately. The person’s trade name in case of proprietorship, partners’ names in cases of a partnership, and in case of a corporate the corporate legal correct name needs to be written in the claim form along with addresses in all the cases.  In case of representatives or agents of corporations or businesses, their legal and correct name has to be provided.  In cases where there are more than one person against whom a claim is made the claim can be filled in any of the places where they live.  In case of parties from another state, the claim can be filed in the place where the dispute occurred.

In order to file your claim you need to fill in a claims statement form, provide correct details; mention the exact figure of the amount you are claiming and provide the exact reason for filing the claim.  You should provide your name, address and telephone number in the form, as failing to provide exact details could result in the case being dismissed. In case of the court is not able to locate either the person against whom you filed the claim, the case can be dismissed. 

Within a period of one year or five years since the occurrence of the incident, a party can file a suit.  The fee will be determined appropriate to the claim amount in dollars, type of claim and the services required by the plaintiff.  A list of services and charges for the services is provided on the county’s civil department website.  Once a claim is made, a date is set for the plaintiff and the defendant to have a pre-trial conference before going into the hearing and then the judgment. You can also contact a local lawyer for advice on how to go about filing your small claim in Duval County.