Civil Division

civil law

Circuit Court Jurisdiction for Civil Matters

  • Circuit Court has concurrent jurisdiction with the General District Court over claims from $4,500 to $25,000.
  • Exclusive original jurisdiction over claims exceeding $25,000. 
  • All equity matters; these include divorce cases, disputes concerning wills and estates, and controversies involving property. 

Practices of the Clerk's Office

  • Court Orders
    • Orders should only be submitted to the court when they are ready to be entered.
    • You may submit a copy of the proposed order, which will be indexed and scanned. You should bring the original order to your court hearing.
    • An original order that needs to be submitted to a Judge for entry by the court can be submitted to the Clerk's Office, along with a cover letter with instructions to send it to the Judge for entry.
    • Any required documents need to be filed before submitting the order for entry (i.e. VS-4, affidavits, etc.)
  • Original Signature
    • Pleadings and Orders must contain original signatures.  
  • Service Copies
    • Copies of documents for service must not be filed with the Clerk's Office until you are ready for service to be prepared.
  • Cover Letters
    • If submitting a pleading or order for an upcoming hearing (within 1 week of filing), please include a cover letter or note on the pleading indicating this. 
  • General Rules for Submitting Documents
    • The court will not accept documents that have been bounded with glue or adhesive.
    • The court will not accept documents that have been printed with or contain shading or grayed areas upon the document.
    • If you are opening a new civil case, you must file a civil action cover sheet, along with the initiating paperwork.
    • We cannot accept any pleadings or notices by fax or email. The original document must be received by our office either in person, or by mail.

*Please note: Court personnel are prohibited by law from giving legal advice.