How to File a Claim – A Detailed Explanation for a Beginning Plaintiff Who Wants to Succeed

The question of how to file a lawsuit does not necessarily have a single answer, because it depends, among other things, on which instance the lawsuit is filed, what the subject of the lawsuit is, what the amount of the lawsuit is, etc. However, a common denominator can be found for most lawsuits filed in Israel, and this article will detail what should be done in order to significantly increase the chances of the lawsuit being successful in court.

It is important to understand that you should know well how to file a claim because filing Claim incorrectly may lead to you having to submit Request to amend a statement of claim, and this may greatly delay the procedure and require you, as the plaintiff, to pay legal costs (because the defendant will then be forced to file Defense corrected, and it will take away his time and resources).

דבר נוסף שחשוב לשים אליו לב הוא נושא הסעדים שאתם מעוניינים לתבוע. נניח לדוגמה שמישהו חייב לכם מיליון שקלים. לא ניתן להגיש תביעה אחת על סך 300 אלף ש"ח ולאחר מכן תביעה נוספת על סך 700 אלף ש"ח. אם אתם לא יודעים איך מגישים תביעה אתם עשויים לטעות בעניין מהותי זה. The rule is that all possible remedies must be sought in a single statement of claim.The exception to the rule is when the court approves Splitting of remedies (A rare matter when it comes to financial relief).

Before asking how to file a claim, it's worth understanding what preparation you need to do.

Data and evidence collection

אחת השגיאות הנפוצות ביותר היא שתובעים רבים "רצים" לבית המשפט ללא עבודתה הכנה נאותה. זאת בדיוק הסיבה מדוע מוגשות בקשות רבות לתיקון כתבי תביעה כשההליך כבר מתנהל בבית המשפט. לפני שאתם שואלים את עצמכם איך מגישים תביעה או How to file a class action lawsuit Ask what I need to prepare or gather to succeed in the lawsuit.

If this is a claim based on Breach of agreementMake sure you have the full agreement. If the agreement has appendices, make sure you have all the appendices as well.

If you intend to file a claim based on any statement or any publication (very common in the context of Defamation lawsuit), you must make sure that you have a copy of that publication or a recording that proves that the things were actually said. Without this data, there may be no reason to ask how to file a claim, because without this data, there is no chance that your claim will be successful.

If your claim is based on witnesses, it is worth making sure that the witnesses actually remember the event as you do. In these circumstances, it is also worth getting from the witnesses deposition Even before submitting Financial claim or Civil lawsuit, because a very long time may pass between the date the lawsuit is filed and the date the testimony is actually given, and the witnesses on your behalf may forget essential details.

If you are wondering how to file a class action lawsuit, this step is especially important for you, because as part of a request for approval Class action lawsuit All documents/evidence/affidavits must be attached to the request for class action approval. This procedure is different from filing claims in most other lawsuits, with the exception of: A lawsuit in a speedy trial.

Should I send a warning letter before filing a lawsuit?

First, it is important to know that in the vast majority of cases there is no obligation to send a warning letter before filing a claim (except Claim for a fixed amount), but sending a warning letter may serve you well in most cases, and may even help you obtain data/evidence that you did not have.

Secondly, it is important to know that the recipient is not obligated to answer you. Warning letter Before filing a lawsuit within the time period you have allotted in the letter, or at all. Theoretically, the recipient can throw the letter in the trash and in a significant number of cases this will not change the court's position in any way, if you ultimately file a lawsuit.

Sending a warning letter has several advantages:

1. The recipient may agree to your demands in full or in part, and this may mean that you don't have to continue thinking about how to file a claim.
2. It is possible that the recipient will provide you with data/documents that you did not even know existed, and this will help you prepare the claim in a better and more correct way.
3. If the recipient does not respond and your claim is dismissed in court, this may help you avoid legal costs, because you can argue that if the defendant had bothered to respond to the letter and detailed the facts he detailed in court, you might not have even considered filing your claim.

How do you file a lawsuit and to which court?

What is the relief sought?

Most of you probably know that there are various courts in Israel:

1. בית משפט לתביעות קטנות – מוסמך לדון בתביעות עד כ-40 אלף ש"ח (הסכום מתעדכן מעט מדי שנה).
2. Magistrate's Court – Authorized to hear claims up to 2.5 million shekels.
3. The District Court – is authorized to hear claims over 2.5 million shekels.
4. Supreme Court – A lawsuit cannot be filed in this court. The Supreme Court serves as an appellate court or a high court of justice.

In order to understand which court to file your claim with, you need to understand the amount of the claim you intend to sue. If you intend to file a claim for 33,000 shekels, you can file the claim in a small claims court or a magistrate's court (in such a case, each court has its own advantages and disadvantages).

However, you cannot file a claim for Order made or injunction or Foreclosure order To the Small Claims Court because this court does not have the authority to hear these remedies, even if the amount of the claim does not exceed approximately 40,000 shekels.

Preparing a claim

A claim is a document in which the plaintiff details the The main facts Relevance to the case (in the vast majority of cases, it is not mandatory to detail all the data, and one should also take into account that there is a page limit for claims submitted to the Magistrate's or District Court, in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Procedure Regulations).

The plaintiff must specify in the statement of claim his details and the details of the defendant, as they appear in the Ministry of the Interior/Population Authority. The plaintiff must also indicate the defendant's ID number., which can be obtained by physically contacting the Ministry of the Interior or by submitting a query via the Population Authority's website.

If you are not accurate in the defendant's details, you may find that you have misled Idle procedure This is because even if you win the lawsuit and the defendant does not pay, you will not be able to open an enforcement case against him, because the defendant's details, as they appeared in the lawsuit, will be revealed to be incorrect/do not match the correct details.

The plaintiff must request in the statement of claim all the remedies he wishes to receive.In the vast majority of cases, the court will not award the plaintiff any relief that he did not claim (did not specify in the statement of claim). In these cases, the plaintiff will be forced to amend the statement of claim if he wishes to add an additional relief to his list of remedies.

How do you file a claim online or at the court secretariat?

The question of how to file a small claim online has a simple answer. The Judiciary has published Guide on how to file a small claim online (Click on the link) and without having to go to court. This is a simple guide with pictures and explanations, and all you need to do is follow the steps.

אם בכל זאת תחליטו להגיש תביעה דרך מזכירות בית המשפט, תאלצו להגיע למזכירות עם שני עותקים לבית המשפט, עותק אחד נוסף עבור הנתבע (או מספר עותקים אם יש מספר נתבעים), ועותק נוסף עבורכם עליו תקבלו חותמת "נתקבל" (אסמכתה לכך שכתב התביעה הוגש בפועל במזכירות בית המשפט).

Please note – when filing a financial claim you will have to pay a court fee. The fee is 2.5% of the claim amount. When Filing the lawsuit You will have to pay half of the fee (1.25%), and before The evidence discussion You will have to pay the balance (another 1.25%).

If you intend to file a small claim – the fee is 1% of the claim amount, but not less than 50 shekels.

What should you know before considering how to file a claim?

Before you start looking into how to file a claim, it's worth knowing that filing a claim is not a cheap and time-consuming business. The higher the amount of damage you suffered, and the higher the amount you are considering filing a claim for, the more likely it is that the process will be more complex and expensive.

You should take into account that in complex claims Lawyer's fees Expected to be significant. In a significant number of cases, you will have to pay the fees in advance. Sometimes the lawyer's fees are expected to reach tens of thousands of shekels, and in exceptional cases even more.

Additionally, you must take into account the court fee. The higher the claim amount, the higher the fee.

You should also consider expenses throughout the legal process. For example: You may need to file a Expert opinionThis is at least another several thousand shekels that you will have to pay. You may also need To summon witnessesThis too has costs.

You should also consider that you may lose the lawsuit. In that case, the court may impose a fine on you. Legal expensesIf you lose the trial, you are likely to consider Filing an appealIn this case, there are many additional costs.

The bottom line is, before considering how to file a lawsuit, it's worth considering whether you have the financial capacity to pursue a lawsuit in court. The more complex the lawsuit, the more money you'll likely have to invest in the process.

In conclusion

Before asking how to file a lawsuit, it is worth understanding that there is a lot of preparatory work that must be done before the lawsuit is filed to increase the chances of success. You must collect documents/evidence/recordings in order to understand how to properly draft a lawsuit, and on what data you can base your claims in court.

Filing a claim without proper and proper preparation may result in you having to file a motion to amend the claim during the course of the lawsuit. This will result in you having to pay legal costs to the defendant and the process will return almost to square one, which means you will inevitably lose valuable time.

If you are considering filing a claim for a significant amount of damage (more than 100,000 shekels), it is very worthwhile to seek the services of Claims lawyer Experienced, and in the case of a class action, Class Action Lawyer experienced.

Frequently asked questions about how to file a claim