3316-SC (rev. 3/20)

SMALL CLAIMS INFORMATION

CHRIS KACHIROUBAS CLERK OF THE EIGHTEENTH JUDICIAL COURT

DU PAGE COUNTY, ILLINOIS

3316-SC (rev. 3/20)

What is the Small Claims Court? It is a Court specifically designed to hear court cases involving claims less than $10,000.00 exclusive of interest and costs. It is located in Courtrooms 2006 and 2000 of the DuPage County Judicial Center at 505 N. County Farm Rd., Wheaton, Illinois.

Who can use the Small Claims Court? Anyone can file a lawsuit in the Small Claims Court if the amount claimed is not more than $10,000. If someone owes you money or has damaged you in some way for not more that $10,000, you can file a lawsuit in the Small Claims Court. If you choose to act as your own attorney (called Self Represented Litigant [SRL] pro se), you must do all the investigation and preparation normally done by an attorney. This includes representing yourself in Court, securing witnesses, collecting documents, photographs and any other items you will need to present your case before the Court. The Judge and the Clerk are not permitted to assist you in accomplishing any of these steps.

How do you file a Small Claims Complaint? The case begins with the filed Complaint . If you are the one who files the complaint, you are called the Plaintiff and the other party is the Defendant. The complaint is a form which explains who you are suing, the exact name and address of the Defendant, how much money they owe you and why they owe you the money. The complaint is signed by the plaintiff and the statement is sworn to before a notary public or Clerk of the Court. The Clerk is not able to assist you in retrieving any information regarding the defendant. The forms you need can be obtained from the Civil Department of the Circuit Court Clerk's office. You can pick them up or they can be mailed to you, if you provide a self addressed stamped envelope to the Clerk of the Court with a request for the forms. Forms are also available on the Circuit Court Clerk's web site, www.18thjudicial.org .

Where do I file the complaint and how much does it cost? You must file the complaint with the Clerk of the Circuit Court, Civil Department, which is located on the

first floor of the Judicial Center, 505 N. County Farm Rd., Wheaton, Illinois. If you are suing for up to $2500 the fee is $118. From $2500.01 to $10,000 the fee is $293. If the defendant resides or is located within the State of Illinois, certified mail may be used for service. The cost for service by certified mail is set by the USPS for each person served. You will need to contact our office for the current rate. This is in addition to the filing fees.

Generally speaking, every complaint must be filed in the county where one of the defendants live or in the county in which an incident or transaction took place. If you win, the judge may award you the costs of bringing the suit as well as the money you are seeking. Before filing the complaint, you should make sure you are suing the proper party and that the defendant has money, income or property so that if the Judge decides in your favor, your judgment will be collectable. Our Illinois Constitution prohibits a Judge from putting a person in jail for failure to pay a debt. Therefore, if a person does not have money, income or property, there is no legal way for the court to help you get the money owed to you. If you have questions, it is generally inexpensive to consult with an attorney before filing your complaint.

The Rules of Court require that in those cases in which a summons is to be served by certified mail, the plaintiff must complete a sworn affidavit as to the last known address of the defendant. This affidavit is located on the reverse side of the summons which is retained by the Clerk in the court files after service has been completed. Service of a summons by certified mail can only be made within the State of Illinois. The summons can only be sent by the Circuit Clerk's office, and will be noted in the permanent record.

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Can corporations sue, or be sued, and how do they defend themselves? No corporation may appear as a claimant, assignee, subrogee or counter-claimant in a small claims proceeding unless represented by an attorney. When the amount claimed does not exceed $10,000 for small claims, a corporation may defend any small claims proceeding in any court of this State through any officer, director, manager, department manager or supervisor of the corporation as though such corporation was appearing in its proper person. For the purpose of this rule, the term "officer" means the president, vice president, registered agent or other person vested with responsibility of managing the affairs of the corporation.

What if the defendant is a corporation? If the defendant is a corporation, you must serve an office of the corporation or its registered agent. You can obtain this information by checking a book called Corporation Index which is located in the law library. You may also obtain this information by either calling the Corporate Search Department of the Illinois Secretary of State at (217) 782-9521 or going to their web www.ilsos.net and clicking on Services for Businesses. Remember that often people are employees of someone else, another person, or a corporation, and it may be that their employer is the one responsible for your claim.

How do I respond to a small claims complaint? If you have been sued in Small Claims Court, you and/or your attorney must appear on the return dateset forth in the summons. (Note: Your attorney must file a document called an appearance with the Clerk.) The Court will hear the case on the return date or it may set the case for trial at a later date. No written answer is required, unless ordered by the Judge, and all statements in the complaint are deemed denied by the defendant. If a jury demand is filed, the court may order the defendant to file a written answer.

What court date should I set?

When you file your suit, a Diligence Date will be assigned. If the Defendant resides or is located in theState of Illinois, you select a court date (called a return date) of not less than 14 days or more than 40 days after the issuance of the summons. If the defendant is located outside of the State of Illinois, you must use a different summons and select a court date (return date) of not less than 40 days and not more than 60 days after issuance of the summons. Return dates are on any weekday, except legal holidays, Monday through Friday at 8:30 am in courtrooms 2000 and 2006. If the defendant does not appear, it may be that they were not served with the complaint and summons. If they were not served, then you must prepare an Alias Summons (cost $5.00) and, in most cases, it will be necessary to have the Sheriff serve the Alias Summons. The plaintiff and/or the plaintiff's attorney must always appear on any served summons date and the diligence date. Failure to appear on a served summons date or the diligence date will result in the case being dismissed for want of prosecution. If the defendant has not been served, the plaintiff does not have to appear on the return date, if it is before the diligence date.

What if I want a trial by jury? At the time of filing a complaint, the Plaintiff must make a demand for a jury trial and decide if he/she wants the matter to be tried by a jury of six or a jury of twelve. If the Plaintiff does not file the demand at the time the complaint if filed, the right to a jury trial is deemed waived. The Defendant must, at the time of filing his/her answer, make a written demand for jury trial; otherwise the Defendant shall be deemed to have waived a jury. The party demanding a jury must pay $12.50 for a jury of six and $25.00 for a jury of twelve. Pursuant to 705 ILCS 105/27.1b and Supreme Court Rule 285. IT IS STRONGLY RECOMMENDED that no jury be made without first consulting an attorney, because a jury trial is a complex proceeding.

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What do I do before trial? You need to prepare your case so you can make a clear, understandable presentation to the Judge. Bring any papers, pictures or other physical objects which have something to do with your case and show them to the Judge. It may be beneficial to write down the facts of the case prior to the court date. You may also bring witnesses to testify in support of your case. A witness is someone who can help explain why you should win the case. Make sure that your witness shows up on the exact date and time for the trial. If a witness is necessary for your case and is reluctant to come to court, you may need to have a Subpoena issued. This is an order of the Court commanding a person to appear and testify at a trial. In order for a subpoena to be legal you must advance the witness fees of twenty dollars and mileage to and from the court house at the time of service on the witness. Be sure to remember the exact date and time of your court date and be on time. If you fail to appear for the trial, you will lose the case. If there is some very good reason why you cannot appear, have someone personally appear for you before the Judge and request a continuance to another date.

What happens at the trial? In a bench trial the Judge listens to both parties as well as their witnesses and examines any physical objects or documents submitted to the court. The Plaintiff and his/her witnesses go first, followed by the Defendant and any witnesses he/she may have. If the defendant fails to appear for trial, the Judge will award judgment for the plaintiff. If the plaintiff fails to appear, the case will be dismissed. When testifying, speak slowly and clearly so the Court can hear you. The Judge may ask questions; if so; answer them as clearly and directly as you can.

What happens after the trial? If you are the plaintiff, and the Judge decides in your favor, the Judge can issue an order to the defendant awarding monetary or other compensation. The Judge's decision in the case is called a Judgment. If the Court has awarded a judgment in your favor, you should ask the defendant to pay you immediately. If the defendant is not present, you should let him/her know that a judgment has been awarded and request the defendant to pay. A judgment can be appealed by either party to the 2nd District Appellate Court in Elgin, Illinois. A notice of appeal must be filed with the Clerk's office within 30 days of the judgment.

What happens if the defendant does not pay the judgment? If the defendant refuses to pay you the money you have won in judgment, you must begin collection proceedings against him/her, because neither the Court nor the Clerk will collect the money for you. You will incur additional fees to complete the collection process which can be added to the judgment. If you know where the defendant is employed, collection proceedings may be by a Wage Deduction Summons. If you know where the defendant has bank accounts, collection maybe by a Non-Wage Garnishment Summons. The parties to whom you direct the Wage Deduction Summons or Non-Wage Garnishment Summons must file a sworn answer. After this is filed with the Court Clerk, you must appear in court and the Court will then enter a judgment against the garnishee for the amount shown in the sworn return and give you a Turn Over Order. A certified copy of this order should be sent to the garnishee. You may use this step as often as necessary for the collection of the total judgment awarded plus the additional costs. If you do not know where the defendant works, has bank accounts or owns property, you should prepare a Citation to Discover Assets issued by the Clerk. This requires the defendant to appear in court where he/she is placed under oath and must answer questions by you concerning employment, locations of banking accounts and other sources of income, as well as property he or she may own.

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The clerk of the Small Claims Court is able to provide you with the necessary forms for the collection of a judgment. Any additional costs of collection can be added to the amount recoverable from the defendant, but if the defendant is truly without assets, you may end up wasting additional money.

What happens after the judgment is collected? Once a judgment has been collected, you should obtain a Release and Satisfaction of Judgment form from the Clerk of the Court. This form needs to be filled out, signed and sent to the plaintiff or plaintiff's attorney who should sign the form and forward it to the Circuit Court Clerk. The Circuit Court Clerk will send the RELEASE AND SATISFACTION OF JUDGMENT to the court.

LEGAL TERMS AND DEFINITIONS:

Affirmative Defenses - A defense which seeks to avoid the legal effect of/or defeat the Complaint in whole or in part and if not stated by the Defendant, would likely take the Plaintiff by surprise.

Alias Summons - This is a second summons issued because the defendant was not previously served or found.

Answer - A court document filed by the defendant (when ordered) which states whether the defendant admits or denies the allegations contained in the Complaint.

Citation to Discover Assets - This is a document issued by the Court Clerk, after judgment, which requires the defendant to reveal, under oath, the location of his or her assets and employment. For amounts under $1000 the fee is $15.00. For amounts, between $1000 to $5000 the fee is $30.00 and when the amount exceeds $5000 the fee is $50.00.

Complaint - The Court document that is filed by the plaintiff to initiate the lawsuit.

Execution - An order to the Sheriff to sell property owned by a defendant after judgment has been entered to satisfy the judgment order issued by the Court.

Notice of Motion - A written notice sent by either party, notifying the other party of a court date in which one of the parties is requesting the Court to take action. If the notice is sent by U. S. Mail, the postmark must be 5 Court days from the Court date requested. If the notice is served in person, it must be at least 3 Court days prior to the requested court date. The original notice must be filed with the Circuit Clerk before the court date. This notice does not have to be sent by certified mail.

Pro Se - A Latin term meaning "for himself" or "in his own behalf" and is pronounced "pro say". When a Plaintiff files a case without a lawyer's assistance; the plaintiff is filing the case "PRO SE".

Rule to Show Cause - This is an order by the Court directing a party to appear before the Court on a certain day to show the Court why he or she should not be held in contempt of Court for failure to comply with the Court's previous order.

Service - A summons issued by the Clerk of the Court in Small Claims is either served by certified mail (in the State of Illinois) or by the DuPage County Sheriff and a return is made either by the return receipt from the U. S. Post Office or an endorsement on the summons by the Sheriff. Until a summons has been served, the Court does not have the authority to hear the case. Only the Clerk's office can send the summons by certified mail.

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Subpoena - A writ of the Court commanding a person to testify in a pending court case. (Note: In order for the subpoena to be valid, the statutory witness fees and mileage must be paid at the time of service.)

Turn Over Order - An order form used to direct a garnishee to "turn over" or transfer funds or property to a specific person.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION If you need additional information, contact the Circuit Court Clerk's Civil Department at 630-407-8700. If you need legal assistance contact the DU PAGE COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION LAWYER REFERRAL SERVICE AT 630-653-9109. If you need additional forms or process initiated, you may call or come to the Circuit Court Clerk's Office, DuPage County Judicial Center, 505 N. County Farm Rd., Wheaton, Illinois.

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A MESSAGE FROM THE COURT CLERK The Office of the Circuit Court Clerk is pledged to serve all of the citizens using the 18th Judicial Circuit Court.

We ask that you read this booklet carefully before filing a lawsuit or presenting your defense in the Small Claims Court. This booklet has been prepared by this office in cooperation with the DuPage County Bar Association, Civil Practice Committee, and several Judges of this Circuit Court. This booklet explains your rights and responsibilities both as a plaintiff and defendant in the Small Claims Court and answers the most frequently asked questions about Small Claims Cases. If you still have questions after reading this booklet, please do not hesitate to contact my office. My staff will assist you in procedural matters, but we cannot give you legal advice. You can also refer to the DuPage County Judicial website at www.dupageco.org for updates and forms. To protect all of your rights under the law, you should seek counsel from a licensed attorney at law.

Chris Kachiroubas Clerk of the 18th Judicial Circuit Court of DuPage County

Although every attempt at accuracy has been made, the authors do not in any way warrant the legal correctness of the information contained in this booklet and strongly urge you to consult with the attorney of your choice.

3316-SC (rev. 3/20)

Return date on Summons The plaintiff, and the defendant, if served with summons, must appear. The Court will ask whether the defendant agrees that he/she owes the amount stated in the complaint. If the defendant agrees, a judgment is entered for that amount plus court costs. If the defendant disagrees, a trial date is set approximately six weeks in the future.

OFFICE OF THE CIRCUIT COURT CLERK CHRIS KACHIROUBAS, CIRCUIT CLERK 18th JUDICIAL CIRCUIT COURT - DU PAGE COUNTY

SMALL CLAIMS SCHEDULE OF COURTROOMS AND TIME

8:30am for courtroom 20008:30am or courtroom 2006

Diligence If the defendant has not been served with the summons and complaint the Court may give a diligence date to the plaintiff to allow for time to issue new summons through the clerk's office and obtain service on the defendant. If the defendant has been served with summons, the case may also be continued from the return date at the request of a party and set at this time for status to determine if the case is ready for trial or settlement. If no service has been obtained, the case will be dismissed.

9:15am for courtroom 20009:15am for courtroom 2006

Status If the defendant has been served with summons, the case may also be continued from the return date at the request of a party and set at this time for status to determine if the case is ready for trial or settlement.

8:30am for courtroom 20008:30am for courtroom 2006

Motions A case maybe heard at this time for both pre and post judgment motions and other proceedings such as: Motions, Citation to Discover Assets, Garnishment, and Motion to Vacate a Dismissal or Judgment Order.

9:00am for courtroom 2000 9:00am for courtroom 2006

Bench Trial When the defendant contests the debt, then the case is heard by the judge who decides the dispute based on the evidence that is presented at trial. Both parties have the right to present witnesses, documents, and photographs. The judge has the discretion to relax the rules of evidence to allow all relevant evidence to be presented.

9:30am & 1:30 PM as set by Court

Jury Trial The plaintiff may file a jury demand when the complaint is filed. The defendant may file a jury demand on or before the return date on the summons. When a party files a jury demand, the matter is decided by the jury after all evidence has been presented to it, and the jury has been instructed on the law by the judge. The party requesting the jury shall have the responsibility of preparing the jury instructions (an original and 3 copies) based on Illinois Pattern Jury Instructions approval by the Illinois Supreme Court. This is a formal hearing and the rules of evidence control what evidence will be presented to the jury.

9:30am as set by Court