Court Claims

What is a Court “claim”?

In order to commence civil proceedings before either the Magistrates Court, the District Court or the Supreme Court of Queensland, a party must file a Court document known as a “claim” with the relevant Court registry. A claim is an “originating process”, as it officially starts the Court proceeding once it is accepted and issued by the Court (i.e. it is stamped with the court’s seal by the appropriate officer of the Court).

At times, however, it may be more appropriate to file a different type of originating process known as an “application”, or the procedural rules which govern civil proceedings, known as the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999 (Qld), may in fact dictate which originating process must be used depending on the specific circumstances of the case. If a Court proceeding is incorrectly started using the wrong originating process, the Court may:

• order that the proceeding continue as if started by a claim or an application;
• give directions the Court considered appropriate for the conduct of the Court proceeding; or
• make any other order the Court considers appropriate, including imposing adverse costs orders against a party.

What are the general requirements of a claim?

A claim must be in the approved Court form.

A party that files a claim is known as the “plaintiff”.

A party on whom the claim is served is known as the “defendant”.

The plaintiff must:

• state briefly in the claim the nature of the claim made or relief sought in the Court proceeding;
• include the names of all the parties to the Court proceeding;
• include a statement in the claim notifying the defendant:
  • the relevant time limited for filing a notice of intention to defend;
  • that if the defendant does not file a notice of intention to defend within the time, a default Judgment may be obtained against the defendant without further notice;
• attach a “statement of claim” to the claim; and
• for a claim filed in the Magistrates Court or a District Court, show the Court has jurisdiction to decide the claim.

A claim, once filed, remains in force for one (1) year starting on the day it is filed.

A stamped copy of the claim and statement of claim must be validly served on the defendant.

If you are thinking about commencing Court proceedings to pursue a claim for damages or other relief against a defendant, and you wish to have an experienced civil litigation lawyer prepare the necessary Court documents for you and otherwise represent you in the matter, please contact AdviiLaw today to speak to one of our civil litigation lawyers. Contact us on 07 3088 7937 or email us at [email protected].

This commentary is of a general nature only, containing nothing more than some general information for the reader. It is not intended to be legal advice, nor cannot it be relied upon as legal advice. To this end, please read our Website Terms including the disclaimer contained therein carefully. Laws, rules and principles may be subject to sudden and unexpected changes and you should always consult a lawyer about your specific circumstances.