Small Claims Information

Small Claims Division

You may file a small claims action in this Court if the total amount of your claim is $6,000.00 or less. Small Claims Court is for claims of money only. Therefore, when appearing in court you must be prepared to justify or substantiate the dollar amount of any loss you have suffered.

The jurisdiction of the Bryan Municipal Court is limited to the boundaries of Williams County, Ohio. In order to file your claim in Bryan Municipal Court you should be able to answer yes to one of the following questions:

• Does the defendant live in Williams County or is the defendant a business that has its primary place of business in Williams County?
• Did the defendant sign or enter into a contract in Williams County, did he/she live in Williams County when the contract was entered into, was a contract or obligation to be performed in Williams County or is the defendant a corporation and the contract was breached in Williams County?

Small Claims Court does not have jurisdiction over such cases of libel, slander, replevin, malicious prosecution or most actions of claims filed by an agent or assignee.

Notice must be served on the defendant(s) as provided for in the Rules of Civil Procedure. Until the defendant has been served with a copy of the summons, the judge will not hear the case. The court will always send certified mail to the defendant first. If the certified mailing is not signed for or if the post office returns the mailing marked “Unclaimed” or “Refused,” the summons will be sent out by regular mail without notice to you provided that you have checked the box on the complaint asking for ordinary mail service. As long as the ordinary mail summons is not returned, it is assumed that there is proper service. If certified mail is returned marked “addressee unknown,” moved, left no address,” etc. you will be notified by the court that no service has been made. At that point, it is up to the plaintiff to ascertain a new address and request the court to attempt service at another address. You may call the court’s Small Claims Division a couple of days prior to the trial date to determine if service has been made.

Small Claims cases will be set for trial not less than fifteen or more than forty days after the filing of the action. When you appear in court please bring the original and two copies (or adequate copies for all parties involved) of any exhibits which you plan to introduce.

Per Bryan Municipal Court local rule, corporations shall be represented by an attorney in court.

Filing Fees In Small Claims Division

Small Claims Complaints	$50.00
** Cost For Each Additional Defendant	$15.00
Amended Complaints	$25.00
Counterclaim or Cross-Complaint	$50.00
** Cost For Each Additional Defendant	$15.00
Subpoena Per Name	$15.00
Transfer To Civil Docket	$150.00
Witness Fee Per Day	$12.00
** Mileage $0.505 Per Mile

Please remember that the Clerk and deputy clerks of the court are not attorneys and cannot give you legal advice or instruct you on how to properly file or present your case in court.

Small Claims Court; A Citizen's Guide, Tenth Edition, as published by the Ohio Judicial Conference in cooperation with the Ohio State Bar Foundation.

Collecting Judgment

After a judgment has been rendered you must take action to collect the debt. If the judgment is not paid voluntarily you may garnish the wages of the debtor, you may obtain a judgment lien on any real estate the debtor may own or attach any personal property that the debtor may own. The above publication will provide you with additional information on these topics.