Civil Claims

Magistrate Court has jurisdiction to hear civil cases up to $15,000.00 (and in some limited instances unlimited jurisdiction). These include landlord tenant disputes, car accident cases, property disputes, contract disputes, suits on account, and actions for the return of personal property. To file a civil suit you will need to prepare a "Statement of Claim" form and pay the filing fee and service fee to the Magistrate Clerks Office which is located on the first floor of the Jackson County Courthouse. Most civil cases are normally set for trial and resolved within 60 - 90 days. All of our forms can be found under the "Forms" page. Additionally all of our fees can be found under the "Fee Schedule" page.  

Landlord tenant disputes, however, are fast tracked and are normally resolved within 7 - 10 business days of the filing. If an answer is filed by the defendant(s) then a hearing will be set. Hearings regarding these cases are held on Monday of every week unless Monday is a holiday at which point the hearing will be held on Tuesday. The Magistrate Court is not able to provide legal advice. Therefore, for more information regarding landlord tenant issues see the Georgia Department of Community Affairs website.