The courthouse maze can be a daunting place for individuals who are not familiar with the legal process. In Florida, the court systems are divided into Civil and Criminal. The Civil court system is further divided into County Civil and Circuit Civil and each have their own division which handle area-specific cases.
County Civil Court has jurisdiction for claims up to and including $15,000. A County Civil case is any civil matter that falls within the jurisdiction of County Court, which are enumerated in Chapter 34, Florida Statutes. Additionally, County Civil has jurisdiction over small claims, eviction cases, and unlawful detainer actions. Evictions are disputes between landlord and tenants wherein tenants are not complying with either monetary or non-monetary conditions of a lease. Small claims are disputes involving money damages where the amount at issue does not exceed $5,000 excluding costs, interest and attorneys’ fees.
Circuit Civil cases are non-criminal cases in which individuals or businesses sue for damages exceeding $15,000. Examples of Circuit Civil lawsuits include bond validations, car bonds, personal property bonds, declaratory judgments, ejectments, eminent domain, foreclosures, injunctions, petitions, quiet title, replevin, and tax-related cases such as a contest of tax assessments, enforcement of a tax warrant and IRS liens.
It is important to know your rights and to consult an attorney as soon as possible if you have a civil issue in Florida. Call the Law Office of Ryan S. Shipp, PLLC today @ 561.699.0399 or stop by our office @ 814 W. Lantana Rd. Suite 1, Lantana, Florida 33462 to learn more. We
