TABLE OF CONTENTS

Drafting My Complaint

What Other Forms Do I Need?

Filing My Complaint

What Happens Next?

GLOSSARY

LEGAL TERMS

AFFIDAVIT/DECLARATION

A written statement of facts under oath, by a party. Can also be referred to as a declaration.

AMENDMENT

Making a change in the complaint, answer or countercomplaint.

ANSWER

Response filed by the defendant contesting all or part of the plaintiff's claim and/or providing an affirmative defense.

APPEAL

A request by either party to take a case to a higher court for review. No new evidence may be introduced in the appellate court. The reviewing court only considers whether errors occurred during the prior proceedings.

COMPLAINT

The legal document, also known as a pleading that initiates a civil lawsuit. It states facts and identifies the action the court is asked to take.

CORPORATION

A legal entity created under state law most commonly intended to be in business.

COUNTERCLAIM

A claim made by a defendant in a civil lawsuit against the plaintiff, included within the Defendant's Answer to the Plaintiff.

DAMAGES

An amount of money that may be recovered in the courts by any person who has suffered loss, detriment, or injury through the unlawful act, negligence or intentional conduct of another.

DEFAULT JUDGMENT

When a defendant is in default, the court enters an order in favor of the plaintiff. The court may in its discretion overturn a default judgment.

DEFENDANT

The person(s) or other entity against which a claim is filed.

DISINTERESTED ADULT

A person age 18 or older who is not involved in the case and is familiar with the rules of service to serve a defendant.

DISMISSAL

The termination of a lawsuit. A dismissal without prejudice allows the plaintiff the option to file again at a later date. A dismissal with prejudice prevents the lawsuit from being brought again in the future in any form.

FILE

To place legal documents in the official custody of the clerk of the court to enter into the files or records of the case. A legal document is deemed filed when date and time stamped by the clerk.

GUARDIAN AD LITEM

A special guardian appointed by the court to represent children or disabled persons during the course of litigation.

JUDGMENT

A final determination by the court of the rights and claims of the parties in the action, whether by default, summary judgment, declaratory judgment, consent judgment or verdict.

JURISDICTION

The extent of the court's legal authority in a specific geographical area to interpret and apply the law. Types of jurisdictional power include subject matter, personal, territorial, concurrent and appellate jurisdiction.

MEDIATION

A form of alternate dispute resolution where a neutral third party acts as an intermediary assisting disputants to settle their dispute.

NOTICE OF APPEAL

A filing made with an appellate court to appeal a ruling made by a lower court.

PARTY

A person, business, organization or government agency actively involved in the prosecution or defense of a legal proceeding.

PLAINTIFF

The person(s) or entity filing a claim against another person or entity.

PLEADING

A formal statement of facts and law, generally written, propounding the case of action or the defense of a legal case.

PRIVATE PROCESS SERVER

Private person who serves each defendant, complying with all service requirements. Most courts and some sheriffs' offices will provide a list, as well as the yellow pages.

SECRETARY OF STATE

The office in each state that provides information regarding all businesses, including businesses with a fictitious name that are registered to do business in that state. All corporations conducting business in that state will have an agent for service of process identified. Virtually all states have an Internet website that can be used to look up businesses registered in that state.

SERVICE OF PROCESS

The act of providing an opposing party with notice of a pleading or action to assure that the opposing party is aware an action has been filed and is given an opportunity to appear.

SETTLEMENT

An agreement between the parties disposing of a lawsuit.

SUBPOENA

Order of the court requiring a witness to attend and testify at trial.

SUMMONS

The section of the Notice, Claim, and Summons to Appear for Trial form that informs the Defendant when and where to appear.

VACATE

To set the judgment aside as if it did not happen.

PART 2: BREAKING THROUGH THE RED TAPE -
            FILLING OUT SMALL CLAIMS FORMS

You've done everything you can to avoid litigation and reach a peaceful resolution, but to no avail. You've looked at your case and know that Small Claims Court is the right place to be. You've identified your defendant(s) and know the venue, or what state and county court you want to sue in. Now you are ready to draft the complaint and file your claim.

Drafting My Complaint

A complaint form can be obtained online in most states or from the clerk of the court. Soon forms will be available on this site specifically for airline related small claims actions. Virtually all states have a court website with appropriate forms online and many allow you to electronically file. Check out Picking the Right State for Your Claim for court links.

Most, if not all, airlines will be corporations or subsidiaries of corporations. For more information about naming business entities check out Part 1: What You Should Know Before Filing in Small Claims Court or Guide To Finding And Understanding Your Corporate Defendant in our Resources section regarding corporations, subsidiaries and the law.

Plaintiff Section:
The first section identifies the plaintiff, the person bring the lawsuit. As the plaintiff you would fill in your contact information as requested. If a spouse, child or someone else is going to be a plaintiff as well you should identify these individuals on a separate form provided by the clerk of the court, commonly titled Additional Plaintiffs/Defendants. If a minor is a plaintiff you will also need an Application to Appoint a Guardian ad Litem form as well. Check the appropriate box on the complaint form to indicate whether there are additional plaintiffs.

If you are suing as a business entity, as a sole proprietorship, partnership, LLC, corporation or some other association then you will need to provide your Fictitious Business Statement number and fill out an additional form regarding the business registration details. If you possess ownership in a company that purchased the tickets, you will want to name the business as a plaintiff in the lawsuit for the company to recover the cost of the ticket. The same would be true if you were recovering damages, including the cost of a ticket paid by your employer.

Defendant Section:
This is the section wherein you name the airline and any airline executives, employees or passengers you want to include in the lawsuit. Naming the right entity is key as you must sue the right entity or your action may be dismissed and you will have to start over from the beginning.

Most, if not all, airlines will be corporations or subsidiaries of corporations. For more information about naming business entities check out Part 1: What You Should Know Before Filing in Small Claims Court or in our Resources section regarding corporations, subsidiaries and the law.

You may name an airline as a Defendant in every state in which the airline conducts business, to every destination the airline flies. As a corporation the airline is required to provide to the Secretary of State for that state a statutory agent for service of process. When a plaintiff files a lawsuit the statutory agent is authorized to accept service of the complaint on behalf of the airline. To find the statutory agent look at the Secretary of State website or visit the Corporations Division of the local office. For easy reference check out our Secretary of State Corporate Records Database reference page for a full listing or do a quick search now from any state in Picking the Right State For Your Claim. If your search returns no results, the airline may not operate in that state and you will have to look at other possible jurisdictions. The airline may also operate under another name and you will have to look at the airline's website or SEC filings for more information of the proper name as the airline will have sister airlines and subsidiaries. For example, American Eagle is a subsidiary of American Airlines. When you name the defendant you must also provide the contact information for the statutory agent for the complaint to be served on the agent in state. It is the agent's responsibility to forward the complaint to the appropriate person within the defendant's organization.

Remember that you cannot force an individual to litigate a case in a state where you do not have proper jurisdiction. Just because the airline does business in the state in question and can be sued there does not mean that any or all individuals you also want to include in the case can be sued in that state. Each individual must reside in the state, own property in that state, or have been involved personally in the actual incident in the state. Without what the court deems sufficient minimum contacts with a state, you cannot sue the individual in that state.

If there is an individual, such as a flight attendant you want to individually name but you do not have that person's name, you can name that person as Jane Doe or John Doe or simply Does 1 through X allowing you the opportunity to substitute the proper name of the individual at a later date when the name becomes known. Jane or John Doe or Does 1 though 5, for example, is a legal construction to allow for the naming of defendant(s) that you believe exist but are unable to properly name at the time of filing.

Specifics of Your Claim:
You must specify how much the Defendant owes you and why. Succinctly explain why the Defendant owes you the referenced amount. This is the meat of your complaint so be clear and concise, giving the court a legitimate basis to award a favorable judgment. Provide the date or dates of the incident and how you calculated the damages owed. If you must use additional pages to describe the incident do not exceed one page as the court will not likely read a lengthy statement and you will have a greater tendency to allow emotion to seep in. Save your argument for the hearing.

You will be required to specify whether you have made an attempt to resolve the issue with the Defendant. In most jurisdictions if you made no effort to contact the Defendant prior to filing the court will dismiss the action until you have made even a minimal effort to resolve the issue without judicial intervention.

You will also need to verify that the court has proper jurisdiction by identifying one or more bases for filing your complaint in that courthouse.

• The contract (written or verbal) was made, signed, performed or broken by the Defendant or Defendant lives or lived in said jurisdiction when Defendant made the contract.
• Defendant does business or lives in said jurisdiction.
• Plaintiff's property was damaged in said jurisdiction.
• Plaintiff was injured in said jurisdiction.

Certificate of Service:
The person who serves the complaint will complete this section. It is the form that verifies that the complaint was indeed served on the Defendant so that the Defendant has notice of the lawsuit.

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