A Guide to Small Claims Court
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Chapter 7 - Appeals to District Court
After the judgment in Small Claims Court, either side can appeal
to get a new trial in District Court. To appeal, you must either tell
the magistrate at the trial after the decision is made or file a written
Notice of Appeal to District Court form with the clerk within 10 days
from the date of the judgment. If you file a written notice, you must
mail a copy of it to the other side within 10 days of the judgment.
A sample appeals form is below. If you cannot get such a form from the
clerk in your county, you may write your own appeal, using this form
as a guide.
Cost
To appeal your case you must pay a fee of $89 to the
clerk of court within 20 days after the judgment. If you cannot afford
to pay this fee, ask the clerk for the "Petition to Sue/Appeal as an
Indigent" form and file it within 10 days after the magistrate issues
the judgment. (See Chapter 1 for more about this form.)
The clerk, magistrate, or judge will probably decide at the time you
file the form whether you have to pay the fee. However, he or she may
take up to 20 days after the judgment to decide this. If you don't get
a decision right away, you will have to keep checking with the clerk
of court throughout this 20-day period to find out if you can appeal
as an indigent. If you are not allowed to appeal as an indigent, you
must pay your $75 fee before the 20-day period is up in order for your
appeal to go forward in the courts.
FORM: Notice of Appeal to District Court
Waiting for the Appeal To Be Heard
If you appeal a judgment made against you in Small Claims Court, you
do not have to pay that judgment until the District Court decides the
case. If the judgment requires you to deliver property to the other
side, however, you may have to turn the property over, or post bond
in order to keep the property during the appeal. Instead of a bond,
the clerk might ask you to put up cash or other security to keep the
property.
If you are a tenant and want to continue living in your residence while
appealing the case, you must sign a statement agreeing to pay your rent
to the court during the appeal process. Some of this rent may be due
at the time you appeal.
District Court
When a case is appealed by either party, a new trial date is
set for District Court. It is handled as if the case has never been
tried before. This means you will have to present your evidence and
witnesses again. Either side may ask to have a jury to decide the facts,
but this request must be made at the time the notice of appeal is filed.
If neither side chooses to have a jury, the judge will decide the case.
The procedure in District Court is more formal and takes more time.
Legal papers that you may want to file are not available as forms from
the clerk. Most people find they need a lawyer to take a case to district
court. This is especially true if you are a tenant appealing an eviction.
**Copyright May 1990, April 1994, February 1997, March 1998, June
2001, November 2003, October 2005, Legal Aid of North Carolina, Inc.**
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