To sue someone, you write a demand letter, confirm you have a legal claim and are still within the filing deadline, file a complaint in the correct court, pay the fee, formally serve the defendant, exchange evidence through discovery, and then either settle, win a pretrial motion, or take the case to trial. Filing fees range from under $100 in many small claims courts to $405 in federal district court, and the full process can run from a few months in small claims to several years in complex civil cases.1United States Courts. Court Fees Before spending a dollar on filing, work through the steps below in order.
Try a Demand Letter First
A demand letter is a written notice telling the other party what they did, what you want, and what happens if they refuse. It is technically optional in most situations, but skipping it is usually a mistake. Lawsuits are slow and expensive. A clear letter shows you are serious without costing a filing fee, and many disputes settle here because the other side decides fighting in court is not worth it.
Lay out the facts in plain terms. State a specific dollar amount or action you want. Set a reasonable deadline, usually 14 to 30 days. Say plainly that you will file suit if the deadline passes without a resolution. Keep the tone professional; the goal is to persuade, not to vent. If a partial offer comes back, work out whether accepting it beats the cost and risk of litigation before you escalate.
Confirm You Actually Have a Claim
Not every wrong has a legal remedy. Before spending money, make sure you have a cause of action, meaning a recognized legal basis for the claim. Most civil cases come down to showing the other party had a legal obligation, failed to meet it, and that failure caused you a measurable loss.
Negligence is a useful example. You have to establish four things: the defendant owed you a duty of care, they breached that duty, the breach caused your harm, and you suffered actual damages. A driver who runs a red light and hits your car owed a duty to follow traffic signals, breached it, caused the crash, and left you with bills. Knock out any one of those pieces and the claim falls apart.
Damages come in two flavors. Economic damages are the losses you can put a receipt on: medical bills, lost wages, property repair, out-of-pocket expenses. Keep every bill, pay stub, and estimate. Non-economic damages cover harm without a price tag, like pain or emotional distress. There is no formula; a jury decides based on severity and impact.
Check the Filing Deadline
Every type of lawsuit has a filing deadline called the statute of limitations. Miss it and the court will throw the case out no matter how strong your evidence is. Deadlines vary by claim type and state. Personal injury claims commonly allow one to three years. Contract disputes often allow three to six years, and some written contract claims stretch to ten. The clock usually starts when the harm occurs, though some states use a discovery rule that starts it when you first learn of the injury.
The consequences of missing the cutoff are permanent. Once the deadline passes, the defendant asks the court to dismiss, and the court will grant it. If you are anywhere close to the line, treat filing as urgent.
Pick the Right Court
Filing in the wrong court wastes time and money. Two ideas govern where you file. Jurisdiction is the court’s authority to hear your type of case and bind the parties. Venue is the geographic location where the case should be tried, usually the county where the defendant lives or where the dispute happened.
Small Claims Court
Small claims courts handle simpler disputes with lower dollar amounts. Most states cap claims at $10,000 or less, though a few, including Tennessee and Delaware, allow up to $25,000. Procedures are streamlined, hearings are quick, and many jurisdictions do not allow attorneys to represent parties. If your dispute fits inside the limit, small claims is faster, cheaper, and less intimidating than a general civil court.
General Civil Court
For claims above the small claims threshold or involving complex questions like injunctions, property disputes, or class actions, you file in a general civil court. State courts handle most civil lawsuits. Federal court comes in only when the dispute involves federal law, when the parties are from different states and more than $75,000 is at stake, or in a handful of specialized situations. Federal district courts charge $405 to open a civil case.1United States Courts. Court Fees State court fees vary widely.
Decide About a Lawyer
You can represent yourself in any civil case. Courts call self-represented parties pro se litigants, and they are held to the same procedural rules as attorneys. Judges will not coach you, court staff cannot give legal advice, and one missed procedural step can sink a strong case. If the other side has a lawyer and you do not, you are at a real disadvantage in discovery and at trial.
For straightforward small claims, self-representation is common and often sensible. For anything more complex, look hard at hiring counsel. If cost is the barrier, ask about a contingency fee, where the lawyer takes no upfront payment and instead collects a percentage of your recovery if you win. That percentage typically runs around 33% of the award, climbing toward 40% for cases that go to trial or carry more risk. Contingency fees are standard in personal injury, medical malpractice, and many insurance disputes. Contract cases and other matters usually run on hourly rates or flat fees, so ask about the structure before signing.
Gather Evidence and Identify the Defendant
Start collecting evidence before you file. You need the full legal name and current address of the person or business you are suing. For a business, use its registered legal name, which you can usually find in the state’s business registration database. Getting this wrong can delay the case or lead to serving the wrong party.
Pull together every document that supports the claim: contracts, invoices, emails, text messages, photographs, medical records, and repair estimates. Note the names and contact information of every witness. Organize chronologically so you can tell one clear story.
Once litigation is reasonably foreseeable, you have an obligation to preserve electronic evidence: emails, database entries, social media posts. You cannot delete relevant files or let automated systems destroy them. If the other side holds electronic records you will need, consider sending a written preservation notice, sometimes called a litigation hold letter, directing them to stop any routine deletion. Failing to preserve evidence can bring serious court penalties.
Draft and File the Complaint
The complaint is the document that officially opens the lawsuit. Under federal rules, it needs three things: a statement establishing the court’s authority to hear the case, a plain description of what happened and why the defendant is legally responsible, and a demand for the specific relief you want.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 8 – General Rules of Pleading State courts follow similar requirements with different terminology.
The complaint opens with a caption listing the court, the parties, and the case number assigned at filing. The body sets out your version of events in numbered paragraphs, identifies the legal claims, and ends with a demand for relief, which might be a specific dollar amount, an order requiring the defendant to do or stop doing something, or both.3Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 10 – Form of Pleadings Some case types, including certain family law matters, shareholder disputes, and requests for emergency orders like restraining orders, require a verified complaint that you sign under penalty of perjury. Check the local rules.
File the complaint with the court clerk in person or through the court’s electronic filing system. Filing triggers the fee. If you cannot afford it, request a fee waiver by submitting a financial affidavit showing inability to pay. Federal courts grant these waivers under in forma pauperis status.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1915 – Proceedings In Forma Pauperis Most state courts have equivalent programs.
Serve the Defendant
Filing does not notify the other side. You have to formally deliver a copy of the complaint and a court-issued summons through a process called service. Without proper service, the court has no authority over the defendant and the case stalls.
Federal rules allow three main methods for serving an individual: handing the documents to the defendant in person, leaving copies at their home with someone of suitable age and discretion who lives there, or delivering copies to an authorized agent.5Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 4 – Summons State courts often permit additional methods, including certified mail with return receipt. The person making the delivery must be at least 18 and cannot be a party to the lawsuit. Most plaintiffs hire a private process server, typically $40 to $200, or arrange service through the sheriff’s office.
After service, file proof with the court, usually a signed affidavit from the person who delivered the papers, listing the date, time, and location of service, the name of the person served, and the documents delivered. If you cannot locate the defendant after diligent efforts, the court may allow alternative service, such as publication in a newspaper, but that requires a court order and evidence of failed attempts.
What the Defendant Can Do Next
Once served, the defendant has a limited window to respond. In federal court, it is 21 days after service.6United States Courts. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 12 – Defenses and Objections State deadlines vary, typically 20 to 30 days.
An answer goes through the complaint paragraph by paragraph, admitting or denying each allegation. The answer can also raise affirmative defenses and, importantly, counterclaims. A compulsory counterclaim arises from the same events as your suit, and the defendant must raise it or lose it forever. A permissive counterclaim involves a separate dispute and is optional. Either way, if a counterclaim is filed, you are now defending a lawsuit as well, which is worth weighing before you file.
Instead of an answer, the defendant can file a motion to dismiss, arguing the case has a fatal flaw. Common grounds include lack of authority over the defendant, improper venue, defective service, or a complaint that fails to state a valid legal claim. A motion to dismiss pauses the answer deadline until the court rules.
If the defendant ignores the lawsuit entirely, you can pursue a default judgment. First, request an entry of default from the clerk, establishing the failure to respond. Then move for the judgment itself.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 55 – Default If you are claiming a specific, easy-to-calculate dollar amount, the clerk may enter judgment directly. Otherwise, the court will likely hold a hearing on damages. Do not count on this being easy. Defendants often respond at the last minute, courts can set aside a default for a reasonable excuse, and collecting the money is a separate fight.
Discovery
Discovery is the formal exchange of information between the parties before trial. It prevents ambushes and lets each side see the real strength of the case. Both sides can seek any information relevant to the claims or defenses, even material that would not be admissible at trial, as long as it could reasonably lead to admissible evidence.8United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 26 – General Provisions Governing Discovery
- Interrogatories are written questions the other party must answer under oath within a set timeframe.
- Requests for production demand documents, records, electronic files, or other tangible evidence.
- Depositions are in-person questioning of witnesses or parties under oath, transcribed by a court reporter. Deposition testimony can be used to challenge contradictory statements at trial.
- Requests for admission ask the other party to confirm or deny statements. Anything admitted does not need to be proved at trial.
Discovery is where most of the time and expense of a lawsuit accumulates. It can run for months, and fights over what must be produced are routine. Weak cases tend to collapse here, and many cases settle during or right after discovery, once both sides can see the facts clearly.
Summary Judgment and Settlement
After discovery, either party can file a motion for summary judgment, arguing that the undisputed facts entitle them to win as a matter of law. If there is no genuine dispute about any material fact, the court can decide the case without a trial. Grant the motion, the case ends. Deny it, the case moves toward trial. Partial summary judgment is also possible, resolving some issues and leaving others for trial.
Most civil lawsuits end in settlement, not trial. Settlement can happen at any stage, from the demand letter phase through jury deliberation, though most settlements come during or after discovery. A settlement agreement typically includes a release of claims giving up the right to sue again over the same dispute, often covering related claims you did not specifically think of, so read the release language carefully. Agreements usually state that neither side admits fault. Once signed, a settlement is binding and enforceable as a contract.
Courts often encourage or require alternative dispute resolution. In mediation, a neutral third party helps both sides negotiate a voluntary agreement; the mediator cannot impose a decision, and if no deal is reached you return to court. In arbitration, an arbitrator hears evidence and issues a decision that may be binding or non-binding depending on the agreement that sent the case there. Many contracts include mandatory arbitration clauses, so check whether you signed one before assuming court is available.
Trial
If settlement fails and pretrial motions do not resolve things, the case goes to trial. Civil trials follow a set sequence: jury selection in jury cases, opening statements, the plaintiff’s evidence, the defendant’s evidence, closing arguments, jury instructions from the judge, and deliberation followed by a verdict.
As the plaintiff, you carry the burden of proof. In most civil cases, that means proving your claims by a preponderance of the evidence, meaning your version is more likely true than not. That is a much lower bar than the criminal standard, but you still need credible evidence and testimony to meet it.
Trials are expensive, unpredictable, and draining. Witnesses go off script, juries are hard to read, and strong cases produce disappointing results. That is why settlement rates are so high. If a reasonable offer comes in, weigh it seriously against the cost and risk of pressing on.
Collecting the Judgment
Winning and collecting are two different things. A judgment is a piece of paper; it does not put cash in your account. If the defendant does not pay voluntarily, you have to use enforcement tools, and those cost additional time and money.
The main options are wage garnishment, where a portion of the defendant’s paycheck is redirected to you; bank levies, where funds are seized from accounts; and property liens, which attach to real estate and get paid when the property sells. You may also be able to request a debtor examination, where the court orders the defendant to appear and disclose assets, income, and financial accounts.
Collection has real limits. Federal and state laws protect certain income and assets from seizure, including portions of wages, government benefits, and equity in a primary home up to state-specific thresholds. If the defendant has no job, no assets, and no money, you are holding what lawyers call a judgment-proof debtor, and no enforcement tool will change that. If the defendant files for bankruptcy, most civil judgments get wiped out. Before you file, honestly assess whether the person you plan to sue can actually pay. A $50,000 judgment against empty pockets costs more to pursue than it is worth.