Have you encountered a landfill on your neighboring property, and there is no reasonable communication with your neighbor, or a customer has failed to pay an invoice? In cases where communication doesn't work, the only defense option is filing a lawsuit. This article will briefly explain what a lawsuit must contain and how much it will cost.
Before you file a lawsuit, we recommend trying to communicate with the opposing party. If repeated reminders don't work, it is advisable to involve a lawyer at this stage. The lawyer can send a pre-litigation letter, which often resolves the issue without the need for a lawsuit.
If you've decided to file a lawsuit, you must file it with the relevant court. This is typically the court of the defendant's permanent residence or the company’s registered office if you are suing a company. In your lawsuit, you must specify the court’s name and address, as well as the plaintiff’s and defendant’s details. You should also clearly state the nature of the claim (e.g., an unpaid invoice), the amount owed, or describe the defendant's unlawful actions. It is important to attach evidence supporting your claim, so it is clear what you are demanding. Additionally, you must include a petition (petit), specifying how you want the court to rule. You can file the lawsuit yourself or through a legal representative. We recommend entrusting the preparation of the lawsuit to an experienced lawyer who will know how to structure it for the best chance of success.
Filing a lawsuit also involves paying a court fee. The court fee for claims regarding the payment of an owed amount depends on how much you are claiming. Generally, it is 5% of the claimed amount. For lawsuits that are not related to money claims (such as neighborhood disputes), the court fee is typically 2,000 CZK.
If you want to sue the other party for an unpaid amount, it may be more advantageous to file a request for an electronic payment order instead of a traditional lawsuit. This procedure involves simplified proceedings and is usually applicable when the debt is easily verifiable, such as an unpaid invoice. Some of the main advantages of the electronic payment order are:
Once you submit the request, the court will issue an electronic payment order, requiring the defendant to pay the debt within 15 days. If the defendant does not oppose the order, it becomes final, and you can proceed to enforce it via execution. However, if the defendant does oppose the order, the proceedings will continue as a regular lawsuit.
If the court rules in your favor and the debtor still refuses to pay or comply with the judgment, you can proceed with an execution, meaning you can hand the matter over to an executor to enforce the decision. The executor has various tools at their disposal to enforce the obligations set out in the court's judgment.
We used a publicly available AI translation tool to translate this article from Czech to English. Please contact us if any of the above information is unclear to you.
