Learning to write a statement of claim. How to apply to court: step-by-step instructions from lawyers

If you have a sample statement of claim to the court, you can accurately draw it up yourself. What the outcome of the consideration of the claim you have written will be largely depends on the correct presentation of the information and necessary information in it.

Requirements for the form and content of the statement of claim

A claim is a document that sets out the legal position regarding your violated rights, as well as ways to protect them. Filing a claim in court is a fairly effective expression of the intention to resolve a controversial situation or conflict.

In order to correctly draw up a statement of claim to the court, without making fundamental errors, it is necessary to study the requirements for its writing, which establish the provisions of Art. 131 Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation.

According to the law, a statement of claim to the court is submitted in the form of a written document, which must contain all the necessary details.

Requirements for the content of the statement of claim

• full name and details of the authority to which the claim is submitted;
• information identifying the plaintiff (full name, address of residence or registration, if the plaintiff is a legal entity, his details are indicated, as well as his registration address and address of actual business activity, contact telephone number). In the same order, the claim must indicate identifying information about all procedural persons participating in the case (the defendant, your representative, third parties);
• value of the claim - the total amount of claims that have a monetary value;
• the circumstances that became the basis for filing a claim;
• the essence of the claims stated in narrative form
• evidence confirming the legal position of the plaintiff;
• claims;
• a list of documents that are attached to the claim;
• date of filing the claim;

A mandatory requisite of the claim is the signature of the plaintiff. The law provides the opportunity for the claim to be signed by a representative of the plaintiff who has the appropriate authority, confirmed by documents (a copy of the document confirming the authority of the representative is submitted along with other necessary documents).

Requirements for filing a claim by a prosecutor

The law provides for the possibility of filing a claim by the prosecutor's office in order to ensure the protection of the interests of citizens. When drawing up a claim, prosecutors must refer to regulations that provide for this method of defense. The prosecutor's office can file a claim if the citizen cannot do this on his own, which is also indicated in the claim.

Additional information that is allowed to be included in the claim

The law allows for the indication in the claim of additional information that is important for the consideration of the claim and the making of a decision. These may include information about the representative of the defendant who will take part in the case, if this information is known in advance; email addresses of the parties to the case, fax numbers and other types of communication may be indicated.

Where can I get an example of writing a statement of claim (samples)?

The form of a statement of claim to the court will be needed by any person who has not previously encountered the preparation of such documents and does not have a legal education. The claim form can be found on the Internet. As a rule, on any court website there are sample statements of claim. In addition, a standard form for a statement of claim to the court, as well as a sample according to which it can be filled out, is available in the court to which the plaintiff will submit his claim.

Who can file a claim in court?

Law firms or legal experts can provide assistance in drawing up a claim form. It is necessary to contact professional lawyers to draw up a statement of claim so that citizens who are not familiar with the rules for writing a claim do not make gross mistakes, as a result of which their goal will not be achieved.

Structure and example of a statement of claim to the court

A typical application submitted to the judicial authorities should consist of three parts:

1. Introduction must contain information about the authority to which the application is submitted, information identifying all persons participating in the trial, as well as the formulation of the requirements for the defendant.
2. Motivational part The claim must contain the legal basis for the claim and a description of the events that led to the violation or threat of violation of the plaintiff’s rights. The legally significant actions of the defendant, circumstances, as well as evidence confirming the fact of violation of the plaintiff’s rights must be described. There must be references to legal acts that, according to the plaintiff, should apply to the stated circumstances of the case.
3. Petition part must contain clearly formulated claims, as well as methods of protecting the violated right, which, in the plaintiff’s opinion, must be applied. Depending on the correct presentation of the plaintiff’s demands to the defendant, the nature of the decision is ultimately determined.

In addition, the claim contains a list of documents necessary to make a decision on the case, which are attached in copies to the statement of claim, and the claim must contain the signature of the applicant and the date when the statement is submitted to the court.

How to draw up a statement of claim to court (samples)

When filling out a sample statement of claim to the court, it is necessary to take into account the requirements set out in Art. 131 Code of Civil Procedure of Russia. When presenting the reasoning part of the claim, it is necessary to briefly, without unnecessary emotions, in an official business style, indicate the necessary information that is important for the consideration of the case, in essence.

Legislative requirements for the content of a statement of claim to the court

The information presented in the claim must be confirmed by evidence provided in the trial. Therefore, you should avoid presenting information, evidence of which cannot be provided to the court. Based on the above, it becomes clear that any citizen whose right has been violated, independently or in the person of his representative, can file a claim in court in order to protect his violated or unrecognized right. The correctness of the filing of the claim, as well as the presentation of all the necessary information in the claim, is one of the main factors that will subsequently influence the decision in the case.

Where can I get a sample before submitting it to the court? How and where to file a claim then? These and other questions are of interest to many citizens who have encountered some difficulties in life. The answers to all these questions can be obtained by reading this article.

The concept of a statement of claim

Before getting down to the question of how to go to court, a sample of which could not be found either on the Internet or in any other specialized publications, you need to understand what a statement of claim is.

A statement of claim is a written appeal from citizens to the courts with certain demands on other persons. The one who submits such claims is called the plaintiff in the law, but his counterparty is called the defendant.

Must be drawn up in accordance with the requirements established by the legislator. More specifically, the rules and necessary conditions that must be contained in such an appeal by a citizen or legal entity to the court are determined by civil procedural legislation.

Requirements for claims

How to draw up a statement of claim to the court, a sample of which is not available on the court’s website? To be honest, this process is absolutely simple. The main condition is to comply with all the requirements established by Articles 131 and 132 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

When starting to write a claim, it is necessary to reflect the following information:

• personal data of the plaintiff;
• personal data of the defendant;
• indication of the judicial authority to which the application is sent;
• addresses of the defendant and plaintiff;

Having resolved the question of how to independently file a statement of claim in court, indicating all of the above details, you can then proceed to the next stage of filing the appeal. It should indicate what exactly served as the basis for its filing - how and how the rights and interests of the claimant were violated. To do this, it is not at all necessary to put on paper all the smallest details of what happened; it is enough to indicate only the most basic nuances. The judge who received the statement of claim must, after reading it, clearly understand what exactly the applicant wants from him. By the way, there is an opinion that the longer the text of the claim, the more reluctant judges are to read it.

Having described the current situation and noting the rights that were violated, a citizen or representative of a legal entity must present to the court evidence that will confirm his words. By the way, this evidence should also be written in the application.

Application to the claim

Before preparing the document in question, it is best, of course, to search on the official website of the judicial authorities for suitable samples of a statement of claim. A sample claim can, as you understand, significantly simplify the task of preparing it yourself.

Having drawn up a document yourself or using a template, you must not forget that the law requires that certain documents be attached to it. Among them are those that will confirm the validity of the plaintiff’s arguments - papers that have evidentiary value. You should also make in advance both copies of the claim and copies of all documents attached to it. The number of such copies is determined by the number of all parties involved in the civil case, including the court.

If a civil case provides for a pre-trial procedure for resolving a dispute, for example, by filing a claim, then the corresponding letters and responses will need to be attached to the claim. Please keep in mind that failure to comply with this procedure, which may be established either by regulations or by agreement between the parties, may result in refusal to accept the claim and initiate a civil case. After successfully resolving the issue of how to draw up a statement of claim in court, it is best to keep a sample of this claim for the future.

Payment of state duty

To file a claim in court, you will need to pay a state fee determined by the state. This requirement is regulated by tax law.

It is the Tax Code that stipulates the obligations to pay the said fee to the country’s budget. Therefore, after preparing all the necessary documents, you need to look at this regulatory act to determine the amount that will have to be paid. The Tax Code, by the way, provides for several amounts of payment of the tax fee - it all depends on the nature of the claims, as well as on the greater it is, that is, the higher the demand of a property nature presented, the correspondingly greater will be the amount of the state duty. As a rule, it is determined by a set amount of rubles plus a percentage of the claim price.

Claims of a non-property nature are a different matter - if an application is submitted with such a demand, then the amount is calculated somewhat differently. Here again we need to turn to tax legislation. It should be noted that certain categories of persons are exempt from paying state duty, and this issue is also regulated by the Tax Code.

Submitting an application to the court

So, all the necessary documents have been prepared, and, accordingly, the question of how to write a statement of claim has disappeared. A sample of this document was found and used for its intended purpose. What's next?

The next step after preparing a complete package of documents is to send them to the judicial authority. Before this, you need to find out which court to send the application to. The Code of Civil Procedure establishes a certain jurisdiction of cases. As a rule, claims are transferred to the territorial court at the location of the defendant. But, as always and everywhere, there are also exceptions here - in certain situations, a claim can be filed at the plaintiff’s place of residence.

Having decided on the court, you can go straight there and contact the office that accepts incoming correspondence to submit a package of documents. In this case, the office specialist will check all the attached documents according to the list, and on one copy of the claim will put a mark indicating their acceptance. These, in principle, are all the actions that a citizen will need to perform at this stage. It should also be noted that currently a claim can be filed in court through Internet resources.

Where can I get sample statements of claim?

All statements of claim, if you try hard enough, of course, can be found on the Internet. However, as you understand, no one is responsible for the quality of such samples; references to legal norms in them may be outdated or completely incorrect. Naturally, this will not entail refusal to satisfy the claims, but will still create a so-called bad taste for the parties to the process.

That is why it is best to take current and correctly executed statements of claim, forms and sample claims from the official websites of judicial authorities. As a rule, templates for the most popular applications are posted there (for example, about divorce, debt collection, division of property, invalidation of dismissal, etc.). However, it will most likely be difficult to find examples of rarer claims on such sites.

Therefore, there is another option for obtaining them - from law firms that provide assistance to citizens. Of course, you will most likely have to pay for such assistance, but the amount of remuneration will be several times less than the amount that would have to be paid for drawing up a statement of claim by a lawyer or attorney and then representing the interests of the plaintiff in court.

Legal forums are also a good resource where you can find not only a sample statement of claim, but also find out answers to many questions (and absolutely free). However, here, too, sometimes you have to doubt the competence of forum participants, and therefore you need to be careful.

In some judicial buildings, there are stands in the waiting rooms that provide information on how to draw up a statement of claim to the court, a sample of such a statement, as well as other information necessary for a citizen. After reading this information, you can do everything yourself.

Refusal to accept the application, leaving without progress

Having figured out how to draw up a statement of claim to the court, a sample of which was nevertheless obtained, and having submitted it to the office, you need to wait. According to the current legislation, the judge is given several days to make a decision. It could be as follows:

• about and acceptance of the statement of claim for proceedings;
• on refusal to accept a claim for proceedings on the grounds established by civil procedural legislation;
• about leaving the application without progress.

The latter decision implies that the judge gives the plaintiff a certain time to eliminate any shortcomings. Such deficiencies in the statement of claim can be expressed in anything. For example, one of the most common mistakes due to which a citizen’s appeal may be left without progress is incorrect payment of the state fee. In this case, the judge may give the applicant several days to pay the state fee up to the required amount. Another of these grounds may be, for example, an incorrect indication of the defendant, an incorrect and illegible demand, or other grounds.

If the shortcomings pointed out by the judge are not eliminated, this is, in accordance with the law, grounds for returning the claim with all documents.

Return of claim

Failure to comply with a court ruling to eliminate deficiencies is not the only reason for returning documents to the applicant. That is why it is important to know how to draw up a statement of claim in court.

An example of the return of a statement of claim due to incorrect drafting could be as follows - the claim will be returned if the statement is not signed by the plaintiff or is signed by a person not authorized to do so. There are other reasons for a return:

• the lack of jurisdiction of the civil claim under consideration by the court in which it was filed;
• filing a claim by a person who is legally incapacitated;
• an existing court decision that has entered into force on the same dispute and between the same plaintiff and defendant.

An additional reason for returning the claim is the plaintiff’s statement with a request to return the documents to him. However, there is one rule here - the judge must not yet accept the claim for proceedings. As a rule, plaintiffs write such a statement if any agreement has been reached with the defendant. In any case, the returned statement of claim may be re-filed in court; no obstacles are created for this.

Help from specialists

In some situations, the best solution would be to contact a law firm, whose specialist will be happy to help you draw up a statement of claim to the arbitration court, a sample of which, of course, he, like any professional lawyer, has.

Of course, a true professional in his field will be able to write a claim not only to the arbitration court, but also to other authorities, and will tell you what documents will be needed and what petitions are best to submit. Therefore, if the case is very complex, and the plaintiff does not have legal experience and knowledge, then it is better for him to play it safe by inviting a qualified lawyer than to save money and lose the case. Moreover, expenses for legal assistance can be recovered from the defendant (if the case is won).

Counterclaim

The defendant's claim against the plaintiff is called a counterclaim. All the rules provided for simple claims apply to him. Therefore, if you, for example, are a defendant and believe that the plaintiff has also violated your rights and interests, then your actions will be similar to the actions of the plaintiff - we draw up a claim in court (a sample statement of claim is taken from the sources mentioned above) and submit it to court office or via the Internet.

Thus, the question of how to draw up a statement of claim to the court yourself can be complex in some cases, but quite simple in others. It all depends on the complexity of the case and the level of legal training of the plaintiff.

If you have the patience, resources and time to study all the legislative nuances of this method of asserting your legal rights, then you can try to go to court on your own. But in situations where the case is very complex, and a lot depends on its resolution, it is better to contact a law firm, at least so that its specialists can draw up a statement of claim.

In any case, the choice of option and method for writing and filing a statement of claim in court remains entirely with the plaintiff, but we should not forget that in certain cases it is not worth sparing money on legal specialists.

Instructions

First of all, you need to decide on the jurisdiction of your case. For example, the magistrate will accept for consideration cases arising from family law, cases on property disputes, with the exception of cases of inheritance of property and cases arising from relations on the creation and use of results of intellectual activity, with the cost of the claim not exceeding fifty thousand rubles and some other. To correctly determine jurisdiction, you need to carefully read Chapter 3 of the Civil Procedure Code, Chapter 4 of the Arbitration Procedure Code or 31-35 of the Criminal Procedure Code, depending on your case.

Let us take, as an example, filing a claim to a settlement in a civil case. According to the current civil procedural legislation (Article 131 of the Civil Procedure Code), it is submitted to the court in writing. The application must indicate:
1) the name of the court to which the application is submitted;
2) the name of the plaintiff, his place of residence or, if the plaintiff is an organization, its location, as well as the name of the representative and his address, if the application is submitted by a representative;
3) the name of the defendant, his place of residence or, if the defendant is an organization, its location;
4) what is the violation or threat of violation of the rights, freedoms or legitimate interests of the plaintiff and his demands;
5) the circumstances on which the plaintiff bases his claims and evidence confirming these circumstances;
6) the price of the claim, if it is subject to assessment, as well as the calculation of the collected or disputed amounts of money;
7) information about compliance with the pre-trial procedure for contacting the defendant, if this is established by federal law or provided for by the agreement of the parties;
8) a list of documents attached to the application.
The application may indicate telephone numbers, fax numbers, email addresses of the plaintiff, his representative, the defendant, other information relevant to the consideration and resolution of the case, as well as the plaintiff’s requests.

Technically, the statement of claim should look like this: on the right, first indicate the name of the court to which the claim is sent and the surname of the judge, then, also on the right, indicate the plaintiff’s data (last name, first name and patronymic, address), below indicate the defendant’s data (the same as plaintiff's details). Below, in the middle of the sheet, the title is written - “Statement of Claim”, then it is indicated what it is about (about collecting a sum of money, for example). After this comes the text of the statement of claim, in which the plaintiff describes the violation of his rights and substantiates his demands. It is always necessary to indicate which legal norm (article, for example) the plaintiff was guided by when putting forward his demands. At the end there is a list of appendices - documents that are important to the case. They are submitted along with the statement of claim.

According to the current civil procedural legislation (Article 132 of the Civil Procedure Code), the following documents must be attached to the statement of claim:
its copies (the number depends on the number of defendants and third parties - a copy for each);
a document confirming payment of the state duty (receipt);
power of attorney or other document certifying the authority of the plaintiff’s representative, if any;
documents confirming the circumstances on which the plaintiff bases his claims, copies of these documents for defendants and third parties, if they do not have copies.
Also, in some cases, other documents may be required.

You can submit a statement of claim to the court office yourself. It is important to make a copy of the application so that the office employee signs and stamps it. Such a copy will be proof that you filed this statement of claim on a certain day to a certain person.

Any citizen whose rights have been violated has the right. A statement of claim is written with the aim of obtaining compensation or compensation for damage caused, as well as holding the other party accountable.

The form for an application to the court can be downloaded from the Internet.

It is possible to write a claim yourself. Now there are sites on the Internet where you can download forms, view them and even get advice. However, it is rare for a person without special education to make such a statement correctly.

It's all about the abundance of regulations that need to be referred to as you write, and for this you need to have a good understanding of the abundance of laws and rules.

The difficulty of drawing up a judicial act on your own lies in the fact that there is no suitable template for each specific case. It is necessary to take into account all the features of the circumstances, indicate in the act only those events and requirements that will help the case develop in the right direction. The statement of claim consists of several parts:

• Introductory part. It contains information about both parties. You must indicate your full name, address, and contact numbers. The cost of the claim is also indicated, which means the cost of the plaintiff’s claims. The price must be adequate and correspond to reality. It is imperative to attach documents that confirm this particular price, that is, spend, attach checks and receipts.
• Description. The plaintiff must state as concisely as possible, but sufficiently fully from the point of view of information content, the circumstances that prompted him to write the claim. It is important to state the essence of the case, describe when and how rights were violated, while indicating references to regulatory legal acts.
• The pleading and final part. It includes the claims themselves, as well as the price of the claim and the cost of the claim. Typically, this part of the claim begins with the word “please.”
• List of attached documents. The statement of claim must have as many copies as there are parties to the case, that is, at least 3 of them - the plaintiff, the defendant and the court. A receipt must be attached, as well as documents confirming the authenticity of the circumstances. When purchasing defective equipment, these are receipts, warranty cards, etc. The list of documents also includes settlement papers, which describe why the plaintiff indicates this particular amount as the price of the claim.

You can consult with a lawyer about how to write a statement of claim to the court, download the form on the Internet and fill it out.

Requirements for a claim

Statement of claim to court: sample

The statement of claim must meet the following requirements:

1. The claim must be written by hand in official language.
2. You cannot use profanity. All emotions must be kept to a minimum and the facts must be presented concisely.
3. The circumstances described in the text must relate to the case and have documentary evidence.
4. Unsubstantiated data will not have legal force. It is important to include references to relevant laws and regulations.
5. All documents mentioned in the list must be available and submitted along with the application.
6. The text of the statement of claim changes according to the situation, but the following points must be present:
7. In the introductory part, which is written in a column in the upper right part, you need to write the full name of the court where the application is being submitted.
8. Plaintiff's details. The surname, patronymic name must be indicated in full, you must indicate where the plaintiff lives and where he is registered.
9. Last name, first name, patronymic and other details of the defendant. If the defendant is a legal entity, you must indicate the full name of the organization and details.
10. Contact details of the plaintiff and defendant: address, home and mobile phone, email.
11. The essence of the requirements presented by the plaintiff.
12. Cost of claim. The full amount that the plaintiff wishes to recover from the defendant is indicated.
13. Circumstances of the case. When, where and what happened, why this circumstance is a violation of rights. All circumstances are listed in chronological order.
14. The facts that prove what happened must be indicated, and relevant documents or witness statements must be attached.
15. There must be a list of attached documents indicating the number of copies.
16. At the end the date of writing the claim and the signature of the plaintiff are indicated.

A large text should be divided into several logical parts, each of which should be supported by a reference to a legal act.

If the claim is filed by the prosecutor, and not the plaintiff personally, the act must contain information indicating why he cannot file the claim himself. The main requirement for writing a statement of claim is a minimum of emotions, a maximum of specifics.

Often people resort to the help of a professional lawyer who will help them draw up a claim correctly, indicate those circumstances that will help when considering the case, and save some things for the hearing. The claim should not contain any information not related to the case, but people who are faced with a violation of their rights do not always understand what exactly is related to the case and what is not.

Common mistakes in filing a claim

The statement of claim to the court must be written without errors

When drawing up a lawsuit, you can make a mistake, which on the one hand may seem insignificant, but will lead to the suspension of the case:

• Errors and typos in the data. All names, addresses, dates must be checked several times and written without errors. If the application is written by hand, the handwriting must be legible. A common mistake is to indicate only one address - residence or registration. The actual address must be marked, otherwise you may not receive a notice.
• The wording lacks specificity. After reading the text of the application, it should be clear what the violation of rights is and what exactly the plaintiff wants. Long phrases, convoluted expressions and confusing ideas will result in the claim having to be rewritten.
• Lack of references to laws and regulations. If there are no links, this is no longer a lawsuit, but a simple
  Insufficient number of copies. As mentioned above, there should be as many copies as there are sides. All plaintiffs, defendants, and the court are taken into account.
• No receipt for payment. Usually no one forgets to pay the state fee, but often the receipt is lost or forgotten to attach to the application among all the papers. Therefore, it is better to staple it to the claim itself immediately after payment. Without a receipt, the case will not move forward.
• The claim price is not specified. People who find themselves in a difficult situation think that the court will determine the cost of the claim and that it is not necessary to indicate it. But without indicating the cost, the application will not be considered valid. It is necessary to carry out all calculations of losses incurred independently or with the help of a lawyer and attach all calculations and documents to the application.
• Excessive emotionality of the text. The text of the statement should not contain a subjective assessment of what happened, emotional statements or tearful requests. The claim must be written in a strict, formal business style, listing regulatory references and specific circumstances. Any emotional epithets are considered a violation and will in no way help the court side with the plaintiff.
• The defendant is listed incorrectly. Depending on the circumstances, it is not always possible to correctly understand who should be considered the defendant and from whom to demand, whether to contact an individual or an entire organization.
• Expired It is worth remembering that any case has a statute of limitations. If it has expired, the court will not consider the case under any circumstances.

It is possible, but unlikely, to write a lawsuit on your own without errors, since each court case has its own subtleties and nuances that require assessment by an experienced lawyer. The easiest to draw up is a claim. It has its own form and a fairly standard form, but when dividing property you often have to turn to lawyers. If the case involves large compensation, it is better to immediately trust the professionals.

Expert lawyer's opinion:

The article contains detailed instructions on how to draw up a statement of claim. Everything is presented in detail and clearly. But we should draw your attention to the fact that even ideally following the form of the statement of claim is not enough. This may be enough if the case is formal and 100% winning. But when there is a real dispute and each side stubbornly stands its ground, winning the case will not be easy. The content of the claim is the basis of success.

In order for the claim to be accepted for consideration, the statement of claim must indicate the rules of law that were violated by the defendant and how your rights were violated as a result. What circumstances, evidence indicate and confirm these violations. Experienced lawyers never lay out all their trump cards in a statement of claim, since the defendant can immediately refute them with his own evidence, which he prepares in advance. In addition to filing a claim, it is necessary to develop a strategy and tactics for behavior in court in accordance with the line of defense of your rights.

That is why a trial is called a process because at least two parties participate in it on equal terms. It has its stages. And the first stage, preparatory, begins with planning, and not with writing a statement of claim. Our lawyers do not recommend engaging in self-defense in complex processes, but rather involving qualified specialists.

You can contact them for a free consultation by calling the numbers listed on the website or using the feedback forms. With their help, you can effectively protect or restore your rights.

A lawyer talks about how to independently draw up and submit a statement of claim to the court: