A party can ask the judge to make a ruling or order something to be done by filing a written motion or making an oral motion in court during the trial or hearing. Usually, one side files a motion, the other side files a written response, and the court holds a hearing, where the parties give brief oral arguments. If a motion is based upon facts that are not clear to the judge from the documents previously filed by the parties, it must be in writing and filed with an affidavit or sworn testimony of the person filing the motion, his agent, or some other competent person. The motion must state the full facts upon which it is based. All motions and related papers must be on 8-1/2 x 11-inch white paper and signed by the filing party with his or her address and telephone number. See SCR-Civ. 10-I. A motion form can be obtained from the Small Claims Clerk’s Office or on the internet at http://www.dccourts.gov/dccourts/superior/civil/forms.jsp. If you do not use the motion form provided by the Small Claims Clerk’s Office, the motion must contain a case caption at the top of the paper and the statement, “THIS MOTION HAS BEEN SET FOR HEARING IN SMALL CLAIMS May 2011 13 COURT ON ____________ [date] AT ____________ [time].” The clerk will insert the date and time of the motion hearing at the bottom of the motion. The Small Claims Clerk’s Office will send notice of motions filed by any party who does not have a lawyer to the opposing party by regular mail. If a party has a lawyer, the lawyer must serve the motion on the opposing party and file an affidavit of service with the Small Claims Clerk’s Office pursuant to SCR-Civ. 5. The filing fee for motions is $10.00, except a motion to reinstate after dismissal under Rule 41-I, which is $25.00, unless the fee is waived by the judge. Parties may pay filing fees by cash, money order, or cashiers check. Lawyers who are members of the DC Bar and approved special process servers may pay filing fees by personal check. If you cannot afford to pay the filing fees, you can file a Motion to Proceed without Prepayment of Costs, Fees, or Security. The judge will decide if you will be allowed to file without paying the filing fees.

The Small Claims Branch is less formal than other branches of the Court. The procedures are simple and costs kept low so that most people do not need a lawyer to represent them in their small claims case. You must be 18 years old to file a case. Someone who is under the age of 18 or an incompetent person can only sue through a "representative or next of friend". An “incompetent person” is someone who a judge believes cannot make legal decisions for him or herself. A “representative or next of friend” is a person acting for the minor child or incompetent person. A business that files a claim in the Small Claims Branch must have a lawyer.