Legal proffesion

Making a claim in Civil court
This guide will help you to understand how to start your claim if have decided to take someone to court. This is also sometimes called suing someone, or starting legal proceedings. It looks at who can use the new online court services, and how you start a claim using the N1 form. It explains what you can claim for in different types of cases, and how to complete a schedule of loss, set out the particulars of claim, and claim interest on the money you are owed. It also explains how to serve the papers on the defendant and what to do if they do or don’t respond. It covers cases about broken contracts (often called ‘breach of contract’), money owed, compensation, and personal injury - including road traffic accidents and accidents at work. You might use it to take someone to the small claims court, or use the fast-track process in a county court. It is part of our series about taking someone to court to sort out a problem or disagreement.
The standard guide explains who can use the different online court processes and who still has to complete the N1 claim form. It also explains what to put together to send with the N1, what to do if you want to stop the claim once you have started it, what you have to do next, what happens if the defendent does or doesn't reply, and explains all the legal language that you may come across.

What a court claim is

You can apply to a county court to claim money you’re owed by a person or business.
This is known as making a court claim. It often used to be known as taking someone to a ‘small claims court’. You can apply online or by post.
A mediation service could be quicker and cheaper than going to court. Mediation is when an impartial person helps both sides work out an agreement.