If your claim is for a sum not exceeding €15,000 then you must issue your proceedings in the District Court.
If your claim is for under €2,000 then you can bring your claim to the Small Claims Registrar but this section is concentrating on claims brought before the District Court.
The following type of actions can be dealt with in the District Court:
- Debt collection – up to a maximum of €15,000
- Breach of contract – most breach of contract claims arise from the sale of goods. If for instance you buy a defective product such as a car, you will have a remedy in law.
- Personal injuries – again if you have suffered an injury following a road traffic accident and your injuries are minor and you do not feel they should attract damages in excess of the jurisdiction of the District Court, then District Court proceedings may issue.
- Damage to property
- Negligence – if you employ a person to carry out work and it is carried out in a negligent manner whether that person is providing a service or carrying out repairs, then you may have a remedy in the District Court if you are not seeking damages in excess of €15,000.
- Ejectment proceedings in landlord and tenant cases.
- Certain licensing matters
- Most family law cases
- Criminal cases – the District Court will deal with offences known as summary offences, which are regarded as the less serious offences but also some more serious offences known as indictable offences provided they are capable of being tried in a District Court.
Before you issue proceedings in the District Court, you have to make sure that you have chosen the correct District Court area within which to issue these proceedings. You can chose where to issue your proceedings. They can be either:
- Where the defendant or one of the defendants ordinarily lives or works, or;
- If the claim is based on a contract, then the District Court area within which the contract was made, or;
- If the proceedings are based on an injury then when and where the injury occurred and;
- If the proceedings are related to property then the District Court area within which the property is located.
For more information, you can contact the Courts Service website or Citizen Information website.