Procedure for filing a claim in court

A claim is an application to the court. It is served to oblige someone to fulfill certain requirements. To win a case in court, you must, at a minimum, file your claim correctly. We will tell you how to file a claim in court and the nuances that are worth considering.

If the amount in dispute is insignificant or the matter is simple and clearly in your favor, then you can draw up and file a claim yourself. But in difficult situations it is better to trust a professional, especially if it is a criminal offense.

Who should apply

Either the claimant himself or his authorized representative on the basis of a power of attorney can file a claim in court. This authorized person must have a document confirming his identity, as well as his status (individual, individual entrepreneur, etc.).

Important! Basically, in order to consolidate the powers of the official representative, the power of attorney contains a sentence like “trusted representative of the plaintiff/defendant in all instances.” But in accordance with Article 54 of the Civil Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, some procedures may require filling out a special form. For example, the rules require that certain powers of the principal - filing a statement of claim, filing a counterclaim and full/partial waiver of the requirements of the statement of claim - must be documented separately.

How to transfer

The traditional reliable method of submitting an application is personal transfer. The applicant prepares two copies of the application and personally submits one of them to the secretariat of the organization where he applied. On the second copy, which remains at the applicant’s disposal, the secretary puts the incoming number, date, and puts his signature with a note indicating acceptance of the document.

If it is impossible to deliver a document in person for some reason, it is sent by registered mail with a list of the contents and a notification of delivery to the addressee. Modern Internet technologies make it possible to track the passage of a letter and its delivery to an organization using a special postal number.

Electronic document management is becoming increasingly widespread. In some cases, a free-form application can be submitted in this way, for example, if we are talking about a resignation letter. The applicant must have an electronic digital signature with which he will sign the application before sending it. Otherwise, the document will not be accepted. This opportunity is provided by Federal Law-63 of 04/06/11, which equates an electronic document, properly executed, to a similar paper document signed by a citizen in person.

Where to file a claim

The statement of claim is filed by the plaintiff or his authorized representative, following all the requirements of jurisdiction and jurisdiction. In ch. 3 of the Civil Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, citizens have the right to familiarize themselves with the jurisdictional and jurisdictional rules of cases.

If the claim was filed against an individual, then it is submitted to the judicial authority at the place of residence of the defendant. If at the moment he does not live on the territory of the Russian Federation (also the place of residence may be unknown to the plaintiff), then he files a claim in court:

by location of his property;
at his last known place of residence.

If the defendant is a legal entity, then the appeal is delivered to the court, which is located at the location of his organization.
If the defendant in the statement of claim is a representative office or branch of a legal entity, then the document must be submitted to the court at the location of this branch. If both the plaintiff and the defendant agree in advance on the jurisdiction of the case within the framework of the agreement, then in accordance with Art. 32 of the Civil Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, they must act in accordance with territorial jurisdiction.

STATEMENT OF CLAIM FOR DEBT COLLECTION

What to do before going to court

Before filing a claim, clearly formulate what you want to achieve. You can find the law and look at the practice of the courts to make sure that the requirement is feasible. We are convinced - let's move on.

Try to reach an agreement before the trial

There is no guarantee that when filing a claim in court, the plaintiff will win. In addition, pre-trial dispute resolution is a way to find a beneficial solution for both parties without spoiling the relationship. In some cases, this stage is completely required.

Mandatory pre-trial procedure is provided for the following disputes:

on the collection of sanctions and mandatory payments;
about payments under compulsory motor liability insurance;
upon termination of the lease agreement;
upon termination of the tenancy agreement;
on termination of a bank account agreement, etc.

If in your case an attempt to resolve the conflict before trial is mandatory, then before filing a lawsuit, you need to collect evidence that you tried to reach an agreement. Otherwise, the court will simply not accept the claim. Therefore, contact the defendant with a proposal to draw up a pre-trial agreement.

Determine the statute of limitations

You can sue if the statute of limitations has not passed. If the opposite party notices that the period has expired and tells the court about this, then your claim will be denied.

The general limitation period (i.e., the period during which an application can be filed) is 3 years, according to Article 196 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. In some cases, shortened deadlines apply (3 months, for example), so it is better to clarify information on a specific situation in advance. The calculation of the period begins from the moment when the violation of the right became known.

Find the defendant

You need to file a lawsuit against someone - decide through whose fault your rights were violated. The defendant may be an individual, legal entity or government agency. You can sue multiple defendants.

If you do not know the defendant's information, you need to find out. By name, address or title, check the individual entrepreneur or legal entity in the register on the Federal Tax Service website. The owner of the apartment can be identified by ordering an extract from the Unified State Register of Real Estate.

Rate the claim

Before filing a lawsuit, you need to determine how much you want to recover from the defendant. If your property is damaged, invite a specialist to assess it.

Let's evaluate rationally. If the court considers that the price of the claim does not correspond to the amount of your damage, then it will be changed when accepting the statement of claim.

Procedure for accepting an application

The statement of claim must be submitted to a judicial authority. The number of copies to be transferred is determined by the number of persons participating in the proceedings. The issue of accepting a claim is considered within five days from the date of its receipt.

After the claim is submitted to the court, a decision is made. Possible answers:

acceptance of claim;
refusal to consider;
return to the applicant.
If the claim does not meet the formalization requirements, it is sent to the applicant for correction.

If the first decision is made by the judicial authority, it will be formalized as a ruling. On its basis, cases are initiated in the first instance.

COURT ORDER FOR DEBT COLLECTION

What is "free form"

The concept of free form refers not to the entire document, but to that part of it in which the appeal is directly stated. The applicant formulates and writes down the essence of the application in his own words without using template phrases and expressions. This form allows you to make the description of the problem more complete and take into account all its nuances.

At the same time, it is necessary to maintain a business style and indicate factual information that is necessary for making a management decision.

The application excludes:

colloquial slang (example: “You are my dear man! Help, be so kind!”);
profanity (example: “... because some idiot from the mountain decided to put up a fence...”);
the use of elements of a different style, for example, special scientific terms (example: “As a result of abduction, the commission put forward the following proposals...”).

It is also highly advisable to avoid careless writing and grammatical errors. The text must be compiled in such a way as to exclude double interpretation.

Current legislation does not contain comprehensive requirements for such a statement. Federal Law No. 59 dated May 2, 2006 “On the procedure for considering citizens’ appeals” establishes that, as a general rule, the application should contain:

name of the body, full name the official or position of the person to whom the application is addressed;
FULL NAME. applicant, patronymic is indicated if available;
postal address where the response to the appeal should be received;
the essence of the document;
personal signature of the applicant;
document date.

If the specified information is available, the application must be accepted for consideration.

If the application was sent electronically, the email address must also be indicated. If it is necessary to explain the stated facts and confirm them with documents, relevant materials are attached to the application (according to the text of Article 7 of the Federal Law No. 59).

On a note! The law does not require a telephone number or other operational means of communication with the applicant. When accepting a document, the applicant can only be advised to do so.

It is optimal to place the text on one page of A4 sheet for ease of perception of information. It can be printed or handwritten. When writing an application, you must be guided by the current GOST (R 7.0.97-2016) and leave margins in the document: the left, top and bottom must be at least 2 cm, and the right - from 1 cm.

Documentation attached to the statement of claim

In addition to the claim itself, the applicant must provide a whole list of documents. The papers attached to the statement of claim must confirm all the circumstances set forth in this document. This may include:

receipt of payment of state duty;
power of attorney confirming the powers of the trustee;
papers that confirm the circumstances set out in the claim and serve as the basis for making demands on the defendant. The number of copies is determined by the number of persons participating in the proceedings;
calculation of the cost of collection. The paper is certified by both the claimant and his authorized representative. The number of copies is also determined by the number of persons participating in the process;
text component of the regulatory document (if the claimant wants to challenge its content);
a list of acts confirming the initiation of pre-trial proceedings.

Grounds that may serve as a reason for refusal

In Art. 134 of the Civil Procedure Code of the Russian Federation provides a complete list of grounds that may serve as a reason for refusing to accept a claim:

the claim is filed with a court, which should not be involved in its consideration;
the statement of claim is filed to protect rights by a government agency that does not provide such a right;
a claim is filed by a person in order to challenge regulations that do not infringe on his rights.
There is already a valid court decision on the conflict, where the same parties to the proceedings took part, and the grounds and requirements completely coincide.

The judge's decision to suspend the proceedings came into force. The reason for this may be the acceptance of a peace agreement, as well as the claimant’s refusal of a previously submitted application.
There is already a valid arbitration court decision on a conflict situation, where the same parties to the proceedings are involved, and the requirements coincide. In this case, the judge refuses to issue the relevant document giving permission to execute the court decision.

The court's decision to refuse is formalized as a ruling.
The act is handed over to the claimant (or sent to his place of residence) within 5 days. Upon receipt of a written refusal, the claimant (in case of disagreement with the result) has the right to file a private complaint. STATEMENT OF CLAIM FOR COLLECTION OF DEBT UNDER RECEIPT

Consequences and order

Agreeing with the statement of claim has legal consequences in the form of a court decision to satisfy the claims. At the time of filing the relevant demand, the court explains to the applicant the consequences for full awareness of the inevitability of the actions taken. Other consequences of recognition of a claim by a defendant in the Civil Procedure Code, Arbitration Procedure Code, and CAS are not provided for.

A party to the case must understand that he agrees with the claims, and not with the acceptance of individual facts revealed during the consideration of the case. In practice, these two concepts are often confused. The main difference is that the consequences of accepting the claims represent the final stage of the legal process, in which the court will make a decision. While the acceptance of individual facts means agreement only with individual points and is not the basis for making a decision to satisfy the claim. The procedural action in question is performed only at the trial stage.

At the trial stage, the concept of “claim for recognition” is often mistakenly used in relation to a statement of agreement with the claims. This is an incorrect formulation. A claim, in contrast to a statement of consent to a claim, has an initial nature and is the basis for initiating a separate civil case in a judicial body.

Return of the claim

The claim will be returned to the plaintiff in the following cases:

the claim was not filed on behalf of the claimant or his authorized representative;
violation of the order of pre-trial proceedings;
lack of established documents that confirm the initiation of pre-trial proceedings;
violation of jurisdiction rules;
lack of signature;
submission or signature of a document by an unauthorized person;
one or more courts are considering a case regarding a conflict between the same parties, the grounds and requirements also coincide;
the plaintiff’s request for the return of the statement of claim (if the request preceded the adoption of a court decision).

How to formulate a demand to the court?

You have a problem that was caused by a certain person. If a person refuses an offer to resolve the conflict peacefully, you sue him. But to do this, you need to clearly formulate what exactly you want to get as a result of the trial. If you don't define your claim, it will be difficult to know which court to file your claim in.

IMPORTANT! If you were unable to formulate a demand and chose the wrong court, the claim will be rejected and you will lose valuable time.

To correctly draw up a claim to the court you need:

Decide what result you expect from the court - for example, compensation for damages for flooding the apartment in the exact amount indicated by the appraisers.
Find a law according to which a court decision can be made - the requirement for the court must be based on a specific law.
Check whether the defendant can comply with the court decision - for example, the defendant cannot be required to return property that has been sold.

Before starting litigation, we recommend that you look for stories similar to your situation and familiarize yourself with judicial practice. Check whether the court can fulfill your request.

In what cases does the application remain without progress?

The claim may be left without progress if violations were discovered in its design or content. The same awaits statements of claim, to which a complete list of documents has not been added.

The plaintiff will be informed of all violations that were identified during the verification of the application; a certain period of time, usually not exceeding 1 month, is allotted for their elimination.

Persons who filed a claim must apply to the court, which is authorized to consider such documents. The decision will be made within 5 days from the date of submission.

How to draw up and submit an application for recognition of a claim

If the defendant agrees with the information about why to file an application for recognition of the claim and makes such a decision, it is necessary to draw up a written statement. Moreover, if a claim is recognized, the courts categorically require it to be in writing.

An application for recognition of the claim may be filed by the defendant at any stage of the process. From the moment the claim is accepted for proceedings, at the preliminary or main court hearing. Until the court makes a decision on the case.

In the text of the application, the defendant must indicate that certain articles of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation (in the sample and example) are understandable. That the applicant understands the consequences of filing and acceptance by the court of an application for recognition of the claim. From now on, such civil dispute will be considered resolved. And you can no longer go to court on this issue. If the defendant does not agree on any of the points, the parties can enter into a settlement agreement.

If an application for recognition of a claim is drawn up and submitted by a representative, such a right must be specifically stipulated in the power of attorney for representation of interests in court.