What to do after filing a lawsuit? Advice from a lawyer

How many days/months will the hearing take place after filing an application in court depends on the content of the claim and jurisdiction. In addition, the judge may leave the case without moving at all. This will also affect the timing of the appointment. We will tell you more about everything in the article.

Litigation is a complex legal procedure. If you filled out the application incorrectly or did not submit all the documents, the claim will be abandoned. If they stated the essence of the case incorrectly, they lost the trial.

Without qualified assistance, litigation is fraught with negative consequences. If your life takes you to court, we strongly advise you to go there not alone, but with a lawyer.

How long before a court date is scheduled after filing a claim?

So, you filed a lawsuit. What happens next?

The court secretary registers the claim, enters information into the database, then the materials are transferred to the chairman of the court or his deputy, who determines the judge for whose consideration the received materials will be transferred. Only after this the claim is transferred to a specific judge. In practice, these actions can take from 1 to 3 days.
The judge receives the claim, examines the claim and the documents attached to it for compliance with the current legislation (whether the jurisdiction is correctly determined, whether the form and content of the claim complies with the law, whether all documents are attached to the claim, whether there is a calculation of the debt, the signature of the plaintiff, a package of documents for the defendant, etc. .) and within 5 days must decide whether to accept the claim for his proceedings. The 5-day period begins the next day after the claim is filed with the court, and if the fifth day falls on a non-working day, then the period expires on the next working day.

USEFUL : watch the video on the issue of leaving a claim without progress or returning a statement of claim, write your question in the comments of the video

Based on the results of consideration of the materials, the judge may make one of the following determinations:

about accepting a claim for court proceedings. Simultaneously with the ruling on accepting the claim, the court issues a ruling on preparing the case for trial and schedules a preliminary hearing. If the court accepted the claim and set a court date, it is necessary to obtain a determination on the preparation of the case for consideration (this determination contains the responsibilities that the court imposes on the parties, the circumstances to be proven, as well as information about requests possibly sent by the court to the competent authorities).
about leaving the claim without progress (more details at the link). If the court, for some reason, left the claim without progress, then it is necessary to obtain a court ruling containing the reasons for this decision, which must be eliminated within the specified period, because If the court's requirements are not met, the claim will be returned).
ruling on the return of the claim or ruling on refusal to accept the claim by the court

The expert spoke about the risks of losing an apartment even with a will

A will is not always a guarantee of inheriting housing. It is important to remember a number of points: the presence of “mandatory” heirs, the use of maternal capital to purchase housing, and the possible later expression of the will of the deceased. They may also try to challenge the will, Elena Glushkova, a member of the commission of the Federal Notary Chamber for International Cooperation, told the Prime agency.

If at the time of death the testator has minor or disabled children, a spouse or parents, as well as other disabled dependents, all of them are classified as “obligatory heirs” and have the right to an obligatory share in the real estate.

Problems with receiving an inheritance may arise if maternity capital was spent on the purchase of an apartment that was bequeathed to you, but the testator did not provide his family with ownership rights to the property during his lifetime. Then the issue of shares is resolved only through the court.

“It happens that when opening an inheritance case, another will is discovered for the specified apartment, certified later than the original one. It comes into force,” the expert said.

In addition, persons whose interests have been violated can challenge the will on a number of grounds:

The testator did not sign the will;
The will was drawn up using threats and coercion, or under conditions of difficult life circumstances;
At the time of drawing up the document, the testator was in a state in which he could not be fully responsible for his actions. For example, in the case of mental illness;
There were violations in the procedure for certifying the will.

Such accusations can be refuted. This can be done by video recording the process of probate. The notary provides the recording at the request of the court, the expert concluded.

How do I know when a trial will be scheduled?

Participants in the process may be notified of the date of the hearing by telephone numbers indicated in the claim. In this case, the court secretary will draw up a telephone message about who, when and what he notified and attach the telephone message to the case materials.

A subpoena may also be sent by mail, telegram, or fax.

In addition, you can call directly the secretary of the judge to whom your claim was transferred (the name of the judge and the secretary’s telephone number can be found by calling the court office) or find out information on the court’s website in the “Court Proceedings” section.

If you are unable to reach the court staff, there is no information about the progress of your claim on the website, you have not received notifications by mail and a significant amount of time has passed since the filing of the claim in court, you can leave an appeal on the court’s website in the “Appeals from Citizens” section. In your appeal, you should indicate your contact information, the date of filing the claim in court, the details of the parties and a request for information about the progress of your claim.

When does the claim period begin to expire?

The deadline established by law, within which the court must meet, begins from the moment the petition is accepted for trial. To carry out this action, the Code of Civil Procedure sets its own time limits. At the same time, the plaintiff must also comply with his part of the obligations in order for the appeal to be accepted for consideration:

it is necessary to pay the state fee established by law, taking into account the amount of the claim and the nature of the proceedings;
write and submit a statement of claim to the court office or otherwise (by mail, for example);
in addition to the claim, you must submit documentary evidence and other case materials;
all papers must be drawn up in accordance with the law.

During the preliminary examination of the petition, the judge may reject it or take other procedural actions if the plaintiff makes mistakes or does not submit the necessary documents. The time limit for consideration of a claim in a district court begins to run from the moment such an appeal is accepted. This action means that no shortcomings were found in the claim, all necessary actions have been completed, and the proper person is filing the petition.

No more than five days are allotted for preliminary checks in the district court. This is stated in Article 133 of the Civil Procedure Code. Within five days, the judge examines the materials transferred to him, deciding whether to accept the claim, set a hearing date, return it to the plaintiff, or leave the claim without consideration. The proceedings begin from the moment a court ruling on such action is issued.

Copies of the ruling are sent to the office of the district court, the parties to the proceedings and other interested parties. The plaintiff must mention these persons in his petition. These may include witnesses, third parties and other citizens or entities. Legal proceedings begin with the adoption of the ruling. The application processing timeframe includes:

collecting the required information;
preparation of documentation;
sending notifications to the parties to the case;
setting a date and time for a court hearing.

However, the trial may not begin. In this case, the deadline for consideration of the claim is shifted. The judge has the right to reject the appeal, returning it and all case materials to the plaintiff if:

The person who filed the petition violated the requirements for the form and content of such a document.
Some mandatory documents specified in the Civil Procedure Code are missing.

When a district court refuses to accept your appeal, representatives of this body must provide a justification for such a decision. It is formatted as follows:

errors or violations committed by the applicant are indicated in writing;
references are made to the legislation violated by the plaintiff when preparing the claim;
the person who applied is sent a corresponding notification indicating how the situation can be corrected.

If the shortcomings are eliminated, the application can be resubmitted. In this case, the time frame for consideration of the statement of claim in the district court will be postponed until the application is accepted.

When the plaintiff has enough time to collect the papers that were initially missing, as well as to correct errors made in the application, the case may be returned to proceedings, and the consideration period will begin from the moment of the initial application. If there is not enough time to correct the shortcomings to prepare the application and case materials, the claim may be left without progress or rejected. Along with the return of the statement of claim, all documents are returned, as well as the previously paid state fee (if the money was deposited into the account, which is confirmed).

If this statement of claim cannot be considered in the district court, i.e. it is simply not within the jurisdiction of this body, the judge will refuse to accept the document. In case of procedural violations, the case may be considered, but after eliminating such shortcomings. Such violations include:

non-compliance with the pre-trial procedure for resolving the conflict;
violation of statutory jurisdiction;
incapacity of the applicant.

Once the violations have been eliminated, the claim can be resubmitted to the district court. But the period for its consideration will already begin from the moment of the new appeal.

What features of setting deadlines for consideration exist?

After a specific statement of claim is accepted for legal proceedings, the exact day and time of the hearing is set. This is done with a small margin of time. This way, all participants in the proceedings in the district court can prepare by collecting the necessary documents and familiarizing themselves with the requirements. Within this time frame, the defendant prepares an objection to the claim. A preliminary hearing is also held at which such an objection can be filed, or the judge will simply clarify the positions of the parties.

Once the preliminary hearing has passed, a date for the main hearing is set in district court. During this process, all case materials submitted by the parties are reviewed, testimony of witnesses and opinions of the parties are heard, the current situation is analyzed, etc. When setting a date for this hearing, the sixty-day review period specified in the law shall be taken into account. After all, two months are given to study the statement of claim and make a final decision on it.

Even if the hearing is postponed to another date, the time limit for consideration of the claim in the district court, limited to two months, is taken into account. Often such transfers are announced on the first day of the hearing. This is allowed when it is necessary to prepare more evidence or collect additional materials on the case. However, the postponement does not affect the final sixty days within which the case must be completed.

When the consideration of the case is completed, the district court renders a verdict, which is formalized in writing. Five days are allotted for preparing and writing such a verdict. During this time, a document is prepared with all the necessary data. The five-day period is calculated from the moment the judge makes an oral decision. However, in practice such rules are often not observed. Sometimes the general time frame for considering a claim is extended (2 months).

Separately, it is worth highlighting the periods for the entry into force of a court decision. As a general rule, up to ten days are allotted for this. When this period expires, the decision of the judicial authority must be executed voluntarily or compulsorily through the bailiff service. Procedural proceedings also have their own time limits. When the consideration in the district court is completed, the above proceedings begin and last for three months. In addition to the district branch of the judicial authority, similar rules for considering a claim are applied in the magistrate's court, as well as the arbitration court.

How long does the court consider the claim?

The maximum period for consideration of a case by a magistrate is one month from the date the claim was accepted for proceedings, by a district court - two months from the date the claim was received by the court. For some categories of cases, the law may establish a shorter period for consideration. For example, the period for considering a claim for alimony or reinstatement at work is 1 month.

In some cases, more time may pass from the moment the claim is submitted to the court until the decision is made than indicated above:

If the proceedings were suspended

For example, the death of a party to the case, the need to conduct an examination, etc., in this case, the period for consideration of the case is also suspended. Let's say you filed a lawsuit in the district court on February 1, the consideration period is 2 months, that is, the decision must be made no later than April 1. However, during the consideration of the case, an examination was ordered on March 1 and the court suspended the proceedings (that is, the court considered the case for 1 month out of a maximum of 2 months from February 1 to March 1), the examination was carried out and the court resumed the proceedings on April 10. Thus, the court still has 1 month left to consider the case and the case must be considered no later than May 10

If the subject of the claim has changed, the size of the stated claims has increased or decreased, a counterclaim is accepted for proceedings

If at least one of the specified actions has been committed, then the consideration of the case begins anew and the period is counted from the moment such an action was committed. For example, you filed a claim on February 10, the consideration period expires on April 10, during the consideration of the case you filed an additional demand for compensation for moral damage (that is, you changed the subject of the claim and increased the amount of the demands). The court accepted the revised claim on April 5; accordingly, the beginning of the calculation of the period for consideration of the case changes and the decision must be made no later than June 5.

Based on the results of consideration of the claim, the court may rule:

Decree on termination of proceedings
Ruling to leave the claim without consideration
Decision to satisfy the claims, to partially satisfy the claims or to refuse the claim

USEFUL: watch the video with advice from a lawyer and write your question in the comments of the video

When will the court hearing be scheduled?

How many days must pass from filing an application to the court until the judge schedules a hearing? Firstly, it depends on which judicial authority the documents are submitted to. As a general rule, the deadlines are as follows:

arbitration court - up to 90 days;
Magistrates' Court - 30 days;
district (city) court - 60 days.

Secondly, it depends on the proceedings in which the application is being considered. For the general procedure, the deadlines are indicated above. In a simplified procedure, a court hearing is not scheduled. The application is considered without summoning the parties to court.

The total time for proceedings under the simplified system is from one to two months from the date of filing the claim. The exact period depends on the time spent by the court on sending the correspondence, including the statement of claim, to the defendant. The procedure itself takes no more than 20 days.

Thirdly, for a certain category of cases, the law provides for writ proceedings, as a result of which the court issues a court order. In such cases, the parties are not summoned. Accordingly, no court hearing is scheduled. The judge makes a decision on the application within five days from the moment it is filed by the plaintiff.

However, a small category of processes falls under writ proceedings. You can submit an application for consideration of a case in this manner, for example, when collecting alimony or debt on utility bills. You can see the full list of cases that are considered in court in such proceedings at the end of the article.

Also in the writ process, it is important how much the collection amount is. It cannot exceed 500 thousand rubles. Above this amount, the application must be submitted in accordance with the general procedure. In addition, the requirements considered by the court in writ proceedings must be indisputable and have evidence whose reliability is beyond doubt.

For example, a bank filed an application for a court order against a debtor for an overdue loan. The amount of debt, together with all penalties and forfeits, does not exceed 500 thousand rubles. The credit institution provided all evidence of the debt, such as contracts and payment orders confirming how much money the borrower took.

Most often, the court has no doubt about such evidence, and the judge boldly makes a decision within five days. The defendant has the right to file objections to such a verdict within 10 days from the date of receipt of the court order.

Fourthly, how many days later the meeting will take place after filing the application also depends on whether the case was pending or not. If the court suspended the proceedings, then this period does not count towards the above period.

For example, an application to the magistrate's court was submitted on October 1, 2021. However, when filing the claim, the plaintiff did not attach papers for the defendant. According to the law, the application must be submitted along with documents for other persons involved in the case. Thus, on October 5, 2019, the court left the case without progress and demanded that the shortcomings be eliminated by November 4, 2021.

The plaintiff submitted the necessary documents within the specified period. In this connection, the court resumed the proceedings on November 2, 2019. Since the appointed period for consideration of such cases is 1 month, the meeting must be held no later than December 2, 2021.

If the application is submitted to a higher court (appeal or cassation instance), then there are also deadlines. When filing a complaint in a civil case, a court hearing will be scheduled no later than two months.

If it is filed in an administrative case, then the period for inviting the parties to a higher court should not exceed 3 months.

Sources:

Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation Article 122. Requirements for which a court order is issued

The procedure for considering a claim in court

During the trial it is necessary:

take into account the position of the Defendant and third parties in the case, based on their reviews and explanations, respond by drawing up additions to the arguments of the statement of claim, clarifying the requirements, as well as drawing up written objections to the reviews of the parties;
analyze the evidence presented by the parties, the information received, requested as part of the preparation of the case or in response to a petition for the collection of evidence;
timely familiarize yourself with the minutes of the court hearing and make comments on it in order to eliminate inaccuracies and effectively carry out the defense of the case;
develop a defense position in the case regarding the substantiation of your claim, which will be consistent and built on the evidence available in the case;
request additional evidence confirming the correctness of your position (written, photo-video materials, audio recordings, electronic correspondence), if necessary, apply for the preparation of a lawyer’s request;
call witnesses to the court hearing whose explanations will confirm the arguments on which your demands are based;
submit requests for an examination of the case, on issues requiring the involvement of specialists (conducting an examination is also advisable to challenge the evidence presented by the parties in opposition to your demands).

PS Participation in the trial is a responsible and important stage of your case . The outcome and decision of the case largely depends on how you prepare. The court will evaluate the evidence presented and make a decision on your case, which should be positive for you.

Simplified production

The legislation of the country provides for cases when the court makes its decision on a case without the participation of the parties to the claim. After receiving and studying the documentation, the necessary copies are sent to the parties to the proceedings (except for the applicant). Next, the defendant and other participants are given 14 days to collect and provide the necessary evidence.

The total time for proceedings under the simplified system is from 30 to 60 days, including the intervals spent on sending correspondence. The procedure itself takes no more than 20 days.

Review of the case

The legislation provides for instances that review court decisions based on complaints from the parties. Higher authorities are also limited in time.

The review period is allotted 2 months (sometimes 3 months) from the moment the case is transferred to the court of the appropriate instance.

Most often, the appellate instance completely reviews cases on the merits; cassation and supervision have the right to overturn the decision and send the case to appeal or first instance, without making a final decision on the claim.

Whether the case is reviewed on its merits or not, the period allotted for consideration does not change.