What is a civil case?
A civil case is a court procedure for working out a disagreement between two people, businesses or organizations. The disagreement usually involves one person believing that he or she has been hurt or had his or her rights violated or property damaged by another person. If you are the one starting the case, you are called the plaintiff, and the person or business you are suing is called the defendant. In most civil cases, the plaintiff is asking for a specific amount of money to be paid by the defendant. However, in some civil cases, the plaintiff may be asking the court to tell the defendant to stop some behavior or to do a specific thing. The plaintiff is responsible for paying the filing fees and most other required fees such as service fees. The general district court must handle the case if the claim is for $3,000 or less, and it may handle cases with claims between $3,000 and $15,000. Cases involving between $3,000 and $15,000 may also be handled by the circuit court. The case ca
