| Instructions
These instructions are to help you
file a civil lawsuit. Legal words and court documents can be
confusing. The more you know about the procedure to file a
lawsuit, the more comfortable you will be when you fill out the
papers you need to start your civil lawsuit. These instructions
will give you some useful information and instruction on filling
out the paperwork you need to start your lawsuit.
Every case is
different and these instructions are to be used as a guide only;
if you think you need more help you may want to get an
attorney. You can also go to a
Court Service Center or contact the
Connecticut Network for Legal
Aid or
find additional information at the Law Libraries.
Court Staff can help you understand the legal process, and while
they may give you procedural information, they cannot
give you legal advice.
To start a
civil lawsuit you have to first fill out a:
And attach
to the Summons:
Once you have
filled out this paperwork, you must personally take it to the
Superior Court Clerk’s Office. The Clerk will sign the summons,
and return the signed original and complaint to you.
After the
paperwork has been signed by the Clerk, the original summons and
complaint must be given to a State Marshal who will serve the
party or parties being sued (the defendant(s). The Clerk’s
office or the Court Service Center can give you a
list of State
Marshals. The State Marshal will charge you a fee for
delivering the paperwork. If you do not think you can afford to
pay the fee, you may ask the court to pay the fee for you. The
form you must use is the
Application for
Waiver of Fees form (JD-CV-120). You must file this form for the court to review
before you bring the paperwork to the State Marshal.
You may also
use the Application for Waiver of Fees form (JD-CV-120) if you do
not think you can afford to pay the fee that is required to file
your lawsuit in court. You can use a single Application form to
ask the court to excuse you from paying the filing fee and the
marshal’s fee.
After the State
Marshal has delivered the paperwork to the defendant(s), the
original paperwork must be returned to the Clerk’s Office along
with the required filing fee or with an Application for Waiver
of Fees that has been granted by the court.
For help
filling out these forms you can go to a Court Service Center.
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