Whether you have a low income or not, you can use the Guide to Legal Help to find lawyers in your area. If you have a low income, you may qualify for free legal services. If you are not able to get free legal services but can’t afford high legal fees, consider hiring a lawyer for part of your case instead of the whole thing. This is called limited scope representation. To learn more, read Limited Scope Representation (LSR): A More Affordable Way to Hire a Lawyer. To find a limited scope lawyer, follow this link to the State Bar of Michigan lawyer directory. This link lists lawyers who offer limited scope representation. You can narrow the results to lawyers in your area by typing in your county, city, or zip code at the top of the page. You can also narrow the results by topic by entering the kind of lawyer you need (divorce, estate, etc.) at the top of the page.
When a person, company, or other entity files a complaint against another, this begins a civil court case. Civil cases are private disputes between one or more people, businesses, or organizations. This article will address only civil cases, and not criminal cases.
Before a court can get involved in a civil dispute, it must have the authority to settle (or “hear”) the case. This is called “jurisdiction.”
A court cannot hear a case if it does not have jurisdiction over both the parties and the subject matter of the case. If you file your case in the wrong court, the judge may dismiss it, and you will have to start over.
The cases a court can hear depend on:
The Michigan Constitution and other laws determine which courts can hear which kinds of cases.
For example, most family law disputes are heard in the Family Division of a circuit court, while cases about wills or guardianship are heard in a probate court. If you need specific information about where to file your case, find the page on this website that covers your legal matter.
The amount of money in dispute determines which Michigan court the case can be filed in.
Small Claims Cases: Small claims court is a court where you can file a case for small amounts of money without a lawyer. The dollar limit for small claims court can change each year. To learn more, visit the Small Claims resource page.
$25,000 or less: If the amount of money in dispute is $25,000 or less, a district court has jurisdiction.
More than $25,000: If the amount of money in dispute is more than $25,000, a circuit court will have jurisdiction.
If you’re unsure of the dollar value of your case, file it in the court with the higher limit because courts cannot issue judgments for more than the limit.
Michigan courts have jurisdiction over anyone who is living in or present in Michigan when served with a lawsuit.
Someone outside Michigan can consent to jurisdiction within the state. Companies that are incorporated in the state or do business here may also come under the jurisdiction of Michigan courts.
There are many other reasons a party may come under Michigan’s jurisdiction, such as owning property, conducting business, or harming someone within the state. If your dispute involves people, property, or activity outside of Michigan, you may want to talk to a lawyer. Use the Guide to Legal Help to find information about lawyers in your area.
If you were served with court papers and you don’t believe you are subject to the jurisdiction of Michigan courts, you must say so in your first motion or answer, whichever you file first.
If you don’t, you cannot raise the issue again. If you think the court where the case was filed doesn’t have jurisdiction over the subject matter of the case, you can raise this issue at any time.
Civil cases are usually heard where the dispute happened. This is the venue.
Generally, the correct venue for a particular case is one that is most convenient. It should be the place that is least burdensome and costly for the parties and the court system.
Each county has its own circuit, probate, and district courts. The plaintiff should file the claim in the appropriate court of the venue county.
If you think the plaintiff filed the claim in the wrong venue, you can object. You must file a motion for change of venue before or at the same time as you first file an answer in the case.
If a case is filed in a wrong or inconvenient venue, it may be transferred to another Michigan court, or the plaintiff may have to start the case over.
A statute of limitations (SOL) is the time allowed by law to file a case. Not every type of case has a SOL, and the SOL is different for different kinds of legal matters.
For example, a creditor must file a debt collection case within six years of the last activity on the account. If a case is filed after the SOL has expired, the defendant can have the case dismissed.
To learn whether a SOL applies to your legal matter, read the information in the appropriate toolkit on this website. If you think the SOL is expired or you don’t know how to measure it, you may want to talk to a lawyer. Use the Guide to Legal Help to find information about lawyers in your area.
The plaintiff is the person or party who files the complaint. The defendant is the person or party whom the case is filed against. They are the parties to the case.
In some kinds of cases, the plaintiff and defendant are called the petitioner and respondent.
Not every person can file a case. The plaintiff must be someone who stands to gain or lose by the outcome of the case. In very few situations, a person may file a lawsuit on behalf of someone else who has an interest in the outcome.
From the initial filing until the final order, a court case involves a lot of paperwork. Pleadings are the main documents in a court case, and they must all be filed with the court.
The lawsuit begins when the plaintiff files the complaint. The defendant can file an answer after getting the complaint. The defendant may also file a crossclaim or counterclaim with the answer. The plaintiff can then respond to any cross- or counterclaim or file a response to the answer.
When certain pleadings are filed (a complaint, cross-claim, counterclaim, or an “answer demanding a reply”), the other party must file a responsive pleading, such as an answer. There are deadlines to file responsive pleadings. To know how many days you have to respond to a pleading, look at the summons (if there is one), read the information in the appropriate toolkit on this website, or contact the court clerk. If you don’t file an answer by the deadline, the judge can enter an order of default against you, and then the judge will decide the outcome of the case without your input.
Each party must state every allegation or statement of fact in a pleading using language that is clear and concise.
All documents filed in court must be signed by the person filing them (or by that person’s lawyer). By signing, a party is saying they’ve read the document and believe it’s true, allowed by the law, and appropriate.
There are case-specific court forms available for many types of cases. You can complete some forms using this website’s Do-It-Yourself tools. You can find others by searching Michigan’s One Court of Justice website. Court forms are not available for all pleadings in every case. You may have to write your own pleadings to the best of your ability, or get help from a lawyer. Use the Guide to Legal Help to find information about lawyers in your area.
The summons is a form that notifies the defendant of the case. It also tells the defendant to respond by filing an answer within a specific time limit.
If the defendant doesn’t respond within that time, a judgment may be entered without a hearing, giving the plaintiff whatever they asked for. This is called a default judgment.
The summons expires 91 days after it’s issued. The plaintiff must serve the summons and complaint on the defendant within this time limit or the judge will dismiss the case.
A lawsuit starts when the plaintiff files a complaint with the court. The complaint is the document that explains the dispute. The plaintiff uses it to tell the judge and the defendant why the suit was filed.
For example, in a suit to collect a debt, the complaint may say something like:
Relief requested: Plaintiff claims judgment in the sum of $6,730, plus interest, costs, and attorney fees.
The plaintiff must pay a filing fee when filing the complaint. The filing fee varies depending on the type of case. If you can’t afford to pay the filing fee, you can ask the court to waive your fees. You can use the Do-It-Yourself Fee Waiver for this. Your case will not start until you pay the filing fees or the judge approves your fee waiver.
When the complaint is filed with the court, the clerk will assign it a case number. A judge may also be assigned to the case at this time. It is very difficult to change the judge assigned to a case. This happens very rarely, and only in response to very serious and proven claims of bias or conflict of interest.
Every time you file something with the court, you must give the other party in your case (or their lawyer, if they have one) a copy of what you filed. This is called service. Every time you serve the other party, you must give the court proof that you did so. This is called proof of service, or proof of mailing. The following video from Lakeshore Legal Aid has an overview of the service rules:
The papers you file to start your court case (the summons and complaint) must be served on the defendant in person or by certified mail.
A party to the case (such as the plaintiff) cannot be the one to serve the court papers. The server can be an adult friend or relative, or the local sheriff’s department, police department, or process server. Law enforcement and process servers will charge a fee.
For personal service, the server gives the summons and complaint to the defendant in person.
For service by mail, the server must send the papers by certified mail, with a return receipt requested and delivery restricted to the defendant. This means the defendant must sign a receipt to get the papers. The receipt (a green postcard) will then be mailed back to the server. The post office charges a fee for this service.
The plaintiff must let the court know when and how the defendant was served. This is done with a proof of service, which the plaintiff should file with the court before the summons expires. The second or back page of the summons court form has a section to complete for proof of service. Proof can be shown by:
You or the server must file the proof of service or acknowledgement of service with the court where you filed your case. If the server used certified mail, he or she must complete the proof of service form on the back of the summons and attach the green return receipt. The server’s signature may have to be notarized.
If the server has tried to serve the documents several times without success, the plaintiff can ask the judge to extend the deadline or for permission to complete service by regular first-class mail or another way (alternate service). If the summons expires before the defendant is served, the judge will dismiss the case.
For specific information about how to serve a summons and complaint, find the toolkit on this website that covers your legal matter.
After serving the summons and complaint papers in your case, service of later papers is easier.