Understanding the Process After Filing a Civil Complaint

If you feel that person or business owes you money as a result of their negligence or wrongdoing, you may want to file a civil complaint against them. In Orlando, the Orange County Civil Division Clerk of Court handles filing these types of cases.

How do I file a civil complaint?

To file a civil complaint, you must fill out the required paperwork, agree to a pretrial conference, and pay a filing fee. Once you have completed those steps, you will be issued a court date and summons to deliver to the accused defendant.

How do I notify everyone that my case has been filed?

Once you have received the summons and a copy of your complaint, it’s time to hire a trusted process server. In Orlando, you have the option to use either a private certified process server or the local sheriff’s department. We highly recommend using a private process server over law enforcement as private process servers focus solely on serving processes, whereas law enforcement oftentimes has more urgent matters at hand and your request can be easily delayed.

Once you’ve hired a process server and provided them with all necessary information for the case’s defendants, witnesses, and anyone else, you must then wait for the defendant to officially submit their answer. In the meantime, you should primarily focus on gathering evidence from your side and making sure everything is well-documented.

What are the next steps after notifying all relevant parties?

Once the defendant has submitted their answer to your complaint with the court and possibly a counterclaim against you, it’s time to attend the required meetings. These meetings may include the pretrial conference, mediation, hearings, and trial dates. It’s imperative that you attend every meeting that the court schedules regarding your case, or you may risk having the entire case dismissed.

Orlando’s Premier Process Service Agency is Accurate Serve®

For the best process servers in the Orange County area, trust the experts at Accurate Serve® of Orlando to handle all your case documents with utmost professionalism and urgency. Call us today at (407) 868-5992 or send us a work request online, we look forward to helping you further expedite your case.