A judgment from a court can help you get the money you have claimed, but going to court will cost you time and money and the outcome is unpredictable.
Before you start a court case, there are a number of things to consider.
Can you find the other party?
To make a claim in the Local Court you must serve a copy of the court documents on the other party and the court must have an address so that it can send letters and documents to them. You can't start a case unless you know the correct address for the other party. If you don't serve documents on the correct address you may have trouble running a case against them.
Are you within the time limit for starting a case?
The time limit for starting a case in court for property damage resulting from a car accident is six years from the date of the accident.
If the time limit has passed, you will need to ask the court for permission to start a case out of time. You should get legal advice first.
Does the debt have a connection with NSW?
To start a case in a NSW court, your claim must have some connection with NSW. For example, the car accident occurred in NSW.
If you are not sure whether you can file your claim in NSW, you should get legal advice.
Do you have evidence to prove your claim?
To win a court case, you need to have evidence to support your claim. Evidence to support a claim resulting from a car accident could include:
- your statement about the accident
- photos
- a sketch of the accident scene
- the police incident report
- witness statements
- quotes for the cost of repairs to your car
- invoices and receipts for other losses, such as hire car costs and towing fees.
Before going to court you should consider the strength of your claim and get legal advice.
Do you need a lawyer?
You can have a lawyer if you want one, but you may not need one. The Small Claims Division of the Local Court was set up to help people run their case without a lawyer. You will usually have to pay for a lawyer if you use one and even if you win you may only get some of your legal costs back.
Do you have time to go to court?
Going to court can take up a lot of your time. If the other party disputes your claim, you will usually need to go to court twice and possibly more often. You may also have to spend time doing research, serving court papers, gathering evidence, and writing statements.
Can you afford it?
If you decide to start a case in the Local Court, you will have to pay filing and service fees.
You may also need to pay:
- costs of enforcing judgment, if you win
- professional (lawyer's) costs, if you lose.
You can claim some of these costs from the other party. But even if you win, there is no guarantee that you will get all your money or your costs back.
Will you get your money if you win?
Getting the money you have claimed will depend on whether the other party has any savings, income or property that can be used to pay you.
Even if you win your case, unless the other party actually has money or assets that can be used to pay the debt, you may never recover the money. You may need to return to court to get an order that the other party pay.
For more information about going to court, see:
- Making a claimin the My Money topic, if you want to start a court case
- Responding to a claimin the My money topic, if someone has started a court case against you.
