Civil Summons - Rules and forms

bluesteel

I am considering serving a Civil Summons on someone for property damage. I'm not looking for legal advice on the validity of the Claim but the rules of the District Court are rather confusing, or at least the forms are amateurish (still using £ symbol; and is a PDF too much to ask for?)

This flow chart is especially cringeworthy

OK so correct me if i'm wrong:
- I print out 2 copies of
"Form: 39.1 Civil summons"
- Get it stamped and pay €22 (at the Stamp office Aras Ui Dhalaigh) - this gives it a Record Number and Return Date

- I mark the Return Date on the Defendant's Copy and post by Registered Post

- Assuming the Summons is delivered OK and not returned I lodge the Original Summons and the Declaration of Service + original Post Slip before the Monday preceding the Return Date

- I attend Court No. 23, (Public Records Building) on the return date to obtain a ate for the hearing of the case


My Question is mainly this -

Do I have to outline the nature of the claim (explain what property was damaged) in the summons? The [URL="[url]http://www.courts.ie/rules.nsf/53bd32841fc5bbf280256d2b0045bb5d/db8f64f213a0567f80257638004f183d?OpenDocument[/url]"]Form [/URL] just seems so basic.

Sorry if the question is basic, just writing the post has clarified a few things for me

Kosseegan

bluesteel wrote: »

I am considering serving a Civil Summons on someone for property damage. I'm not looking for legal advice on the validity of the Claim but the rules of the District Court are rather confusing, or at least the forms are amateurish (still using £ symbol; and is a PDF too much to ask for?)

This flow chart is especially cringeworthy




My Question is mainly this -

Do I have to outline the nature of the claim (explain what property was damaged) in the summons? The [URL="[url]http://www.courts.ie/rules.nsf/53bd32841fc5bbf280256d2b0045bb5d/db8f64f213a0567f80257638004f183d?OpenDocument[/url]"]Form [/URL] just seems so basic.

Sorry if the question is basic, just writing the post has clarified a few things for me

The answer is mainly that you have to outline the nature of your claim. You would have to go further than explain what property was damaged. The defendant must know the nature of the claim against him. The form is basic because there is a large variety of potential claims. There are precedent books which might help you. Drafting legal pleadings is a highly technical skill.

BRAIN FEEDs

Hi Blue, are you considering taking the civil action yourself? ie without getting a legal rep?

this is a crazy route to take,im not giving you advice,but i will strongly suggest you do not take this action without a solicitor. seriously dude!

valleyoftheunos

BRAIN FEEDs wrote: »

Hi Blue, are you considering taking the civil action yourself? ie without getting a legal rep?

this is a crazy route to take,im not giving you advice,but i will strongly suggest you do not take this action without a solicitor. seriously dude!

Absolutely agree, take legal advice before proceeding with litigation!

bluesteel

BRAIN FEEDs wrote: »

Hi Blue, are you considering taking the civil action yourself? ie without getting a legal rep?

this is a crazy route to take,im not giving you advice,but i will strongly suggest you do not take this action without a solicitor. seriously dude!

Hi

yep I was considering taking the action, the amount is fairly small and the damages fairly obvious.

I wish I could go down the small claims route but the damages is as a result of a water leak from the upstairs apartment so not eligible.

I feel it's an open and shut case but the legal profession doesn't want lay people taking the law into their own hands?

Edit for autocorrect

johnnyskeleton

bluesteel wrote: »

Hi

yep I was considering taking the action, the amount is fairly small and the damages fairly obvious.

I wish I could go down the small claims route but the damages is as a result of a water leak from the upstairs apartment so not eligible.

I feel its an open and shut case but the legal profession doesn't want lay people taking the law into their own handset...

The legal profession are more than happy for you to represent yourself, they just don't like you wanting them to teach them their lifetimes knowledge and skill for free.

ResearchWill

bluesteel wrote: »

Hi

yep I was considering taking the action, the amount is fairly small and the damages fairly obvious.

I wish I could go down the small claims route but the damages is as a result of a water leak from the upstairs apartment so not eligible.

I feel its an open and shut case but the legal profession doesn't want lay people taking the law into their own handset...

No lawyer has any issue with a lay man taking a claim for himself. But they do cringe when that lay man makes a mess of it. Drafting is a skill, the rules set out the skeleton of the required form that must be filled in with a lot more specific info. If you don't know how, don't do it if you do know how work away.

bluesteel

johnnyskeleton wrote: »

The legal profession are more than happy for you to represent yourself, they just don't like you wanting them to teach them their lifetimes knowledge and skill for free.

I don't mean to offend and I don't expect anyone to teach me anything for free. I've had a positive experience in the Small claims court and don't see why the the principle of keeping things simple can't apply. X happened on Y which caused Z. Do I really need legal precedent to establish damage?

I'm not a freeman crank, I just think it's a shame to have to spend a few hundred on a lawyer for a small claim.

Fwiw I have a solicitor and will prob take your advice and go through her.

BRAIN FEEDs

bluesteel wrote: »

I don't mean to offend and I don't expect anyone to teach me anything for free. I've had a positive experience in the Small claims court and don't see why the the principle of keeping things simple can't apply.

I'm not a freeman crank, I just think it's a shame to have to spend a few hundred on a lawyer for a small claim.

I dont think you are offending anyone Blue,go for it if your confident,the consequences if you loose could be huge,defendants legal costs plus witness etc.

i have seen cases,very recently in civil court where a case could be swung on 1 small detail.

im no solicitor,just sharing experiences. i would be happy and confident to represent myself for minor traffic etc etc offences,(thankfully i have never been to court for anything other than just being an onlooker)but not a civil case,no way. best of luck.

valleyoftheunos

No one is offended by lay litigants but it is easy to make a mistake between drafting, issuing, and serving a summons. As Research says, if you know what you're doing absolutely go for it, if you don't, see a solicitor.