A small claims complaint must be filed in the municipal or county court having jurisdiction.

A court has jurisdiction if the transaction or incident on which the claim is based took place in that Court’s territory: The Sylvania Municipal Court territory is bounded by the state of Michigan to the North, the City of Toledo in the east, the Ohio turnpike in the south and the Fulton county line in the west. Regardless of where the transaction or incident took place, a court also has jurisdiction if the defendant or business is located in the territory of the court.

Once you have determined who you are going to sue and for how much, go to the Clerk of Courts office to fill out the form.

HOW DO I FILE MY CLAIM ?

A lawsuit on a small claim is begun by filing a statement of claim which contains a description of the nature and the amount of the claim. A Small Claims Complaint form is available on our Website by clicking here. Just click the print button on your Internet Browser.

You will be given a copy of the complaint which will list the case number assigned and the date and time of the trial. You will also be given a form requesting ordinary mail service of the complaint. Although a deputy clerk may help you fill out the form, he/she is not an attorney and cannot give you legal advice about your case.

Your complaint will be sent to the defendant by certified mail. If the Post office returns that letter to the Clerk of courts unserved and you signed a request for ordinary mail service then the complaint will be reissued by regular mail.

If the complaint is not returned (addressee"unknown, etc.") it is assumed to have been served.

Both the Plaintiff and the Defendant are entitled to request one continuance of the trial date. Please be aware that the original trial date on the complaint may change. You will be notified by the Clerk of Courts office if this happens.

Unfortunately, filing suit in Small Claims court does NOT guarantee that the case will be heard there. Any defendant has the right to file a motion to have the case taken out of Small Claims and transferred to the regular civil docket. If this happens to your case, it may make it harder for you to continue without a lawyer. While you would still have a right to represent yourself, you would not enjoy the relaxed rules of Small Claims and should, therefore, consider at least consulting with a lawyer before going into the regular Civil Court Docket on your own.