Small Claims Complaint
DO NOT FILE, SIGN, VERIFY, OR SERVE THIS PACKET. Counsel must select the
current court, claim track, official form, caption, allegations, remedy,
execution, filing, and service procedure before preparing separate documents.
DELAWARE SMALL-CLAIMS MATTER AND COMPLAINT-PREPARATION PACKET
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Matter and form control
- Working terms
- Claim, court, amount, and venue research
- Facts and record
- Claim-theory development
- Damages and remedy analysis
- Filing and relief decision
- Execution and form control
- Service and post-filing research
1. MATTER AND FORM CONTROL
| Required determination | Completed entry | Current official source, form, or record | Checked on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Claimant and responding party legal identities and capacities | [________________________________] | [________________________________] | [__/__/____] |
| Claim type and requested remedy | [________________________________] | [________________________________] | [__/__/____] |
| Court, county, location, and case type | [________________________________] | [________________________________] | [__/__/____] |
| Eligibility and monetary scope | [________________________________] | [________________________________] | [__/__/____] |
| Venue facts | [________________________________] | [________________________________] | [__/__/____] |
| Current complaint, summons, information sheet, and attachment forms | [________________________________] | [________________________________] | [__/__/____] |
| Filing fee, waiver, filing method, and clerk instructions | [________________________________] | [________________________________] | [__/__/____] |
| Service, response, hearing, jury, review, and enforcement procedure | [________________________________] | [________________________________] | [__/__/____] |
2. WORKING TERMS
These labels organize research only and do not establish a party's status, a claim, a court's authority, or an available remedy.
| Working label | Entry |
|---|---|
| Claimant | [________________________________] |
| Responding party | [________________________________] |
| Transaction or event | [________________________________] |
| Proposed claim | [________________________________] |
| Proposed court and form | [________________________________] |
| Amount under investigation | $[________________________________] |
3. CLAIM, COURT, AMOUNT, AND VENUE RESEARCH
| Question | Counsel's conclusion | Current official authority or form | Supporting facts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Is the proposed claim within the selected track? | [________________________________] | [________________________________] | [________________________________] |
| What amount and remedy rules apply? | [________________________________] | [________________________________] | [________________________________] |
| What court and location have authority? | [________________________________] | [________________________________] | [________________________________] |
| What venue facts must be alleged or proved? | [________________________________] | [________________________________] | [________________________________] |
| Does another agreement, arbitration, agency, bankruptcy, probate, housing, consumer, or special proceeding affect the route? | [________________________________] | [________________________________] | [________________________________] |
| What limitation, notice, demand, cure, exhaustion, or prefiling rule applies? | [________________________________] | [________________________________] | [________________________________] |
| What jury, transfer, review, or appeal rule applies? | [________________________________] | [________________________________] | [________________________________] |
No court, claim category, monetary ceiling, venue, jury result, or review period is supplied by this packet.
4. FACTS AND RECORD
| Date | Event or communication | Person or entity | Supporting record or witness | Dispute or uncertainty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [__/__/____] | [________________________________] | [________________________________] | [________________________________] | [________________________________] |
| [__/__/____] | [________________________________] | [________________________________] | [________________________________] | [________________________________] |
| [__/__/____] | [________________________________] | [________________________________] | [________________________________] | [________________________________] |
| Record category | Located? | Source, custodian, and authenticity issue |
|---|---|---|
| Contract, invoice, receipt, account, title, photograph, or property record | [YES / NO / TBD] | [________________________________] |
| Demand, notice, response, admission, or settlement communication | [YES / NO / TBD] | [________________________________] |
| Payment, repair, replacement, loss, value, or mitigation record | [YES / NO / TBD] | [________________________________] |
| Witness, expert, business-record, or public-record evidence | [YES / NO / TBD] | [________________________________] |
5. CLAIM-THEORY DEVELOPMENT
Do not treat a business label as an established cause of action. Counsel must derive every element, defense, remedy, and required fact from current authority.
| Proposed claim or defense | Elements or test | Supporting facts | Adverse facts or defense | Current authority |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [________________________________] | [________________________________] | [________________________________] | [________________________________] | [________________________________] |
| [________________________________] | [________________________________] | [________________________________] | [________________________________] | [________________________________] |
☐ Contract formation, terms, performance, breach, conditions, and defenses reviewed
☐ Ownership, possession, damage, value, causation, and mitigation reviewed
☐ Consumer, landlord-tenant, employment, debt, motor-vehicle, or other special regime reviewed
☐ Counterclaim, setoff, recoupment, third party, necessary party, and claim-preclusion risks reviewed
6. DAMAGES AND REMEDY ANALYSIS
| Component | Calculation and evidence | Authority or contract | Amount requested |
|---|---|---|---|
| Principal, property, repair, replacement, or other actual loss | [________________________________] | [________________________________] | $[__________] |
| Payment, credit, offset, salvage, insurance, or mitigation | [________________________________] | [________________________________] | ($[__________]) |
| Interest, if authorized | [________________________________] | [________________________________] | $[__________] |
| Costs or fees, if authorized | [________________________________] | [________________________________] | $[__________] |
| Other remedy within the selected track | [________________________________] | [________________________________] | $[__________] |
| Proposed total | $[__________] |
This packet does not authorize interest, fees, costs, exemplary amounts, possession, return of property, injunctions, or any other remedy.
7. FILING AND RELIEF DECISION
☐ No filing is selected; use negotiation, another process, or continue investigation
☐ Current small-claims route selected
☐ Another civil, housing, consumer, agency, probate, bankruptcy, arbitration, or special route selected: [________________________________]
☐ Authority or facts remain unresolved; do not file
If a filing is selected, transfer only counsel-approved content into the current official form. Do not attach this packet unless the court expressly authorizes it.
8. EXECUTION AND FORM CONTROL
Do not sign this packet. Record the current requirement for the selected filing:
| Question | Verified answer | Current official authority or form |
|---|---|---|
| Who signs and in what capacity? | [________________________________] | [________________________________] |
| Is an oath, declaration, verification, acknowledgment, or no special execution used? | [________________________________] | [________________________________] |
| What exact signature and contact fields apply? | [________________________________] | [________________________________] |
| What entity authorization, attorney signature, or self-represented rule applies? | [________________________________] | [________________________________] |
| What electronic, paper, language-access, accommodation, or confidentiality process applies? | [________________________________] | [________________________________] |
9. SERVICE AND POST-FILING RESEARCH
| Topic | Verified result | Current official source, form, order, or docket |
|---|---|---|
| Who issues and serves initiating process | [________________________________] | [________________________________] |
| Correct recipient and capacity | [________________________________] | [________________________________] |
| Method, address, copies, timing, and proof | [________________________________] | [________________________________] |
| Response, counterclaim, hearing, evidence, and jury procedure | [________________________________] | [________________________________] |
| Default, continuance, settlement, dismissal, and judgment procedure | [________________________________] | [________________________________] |
| Review, appeal, stay, bond, and transcript procedure | [________________________________] | [________________________________] |
| Collection, satisfaction, enforcement, exemption, and post-judgment procedure | [________________________________] | [________________________________] |
This packet is complete only as research and drafting support. It is not a complaint.
About This Template
These are the filings that drive a lawsuit through the system: complaints, answers, motions, briefs, discovery requests and responses, and post-judgment papers. Each has its own format requirements under federal and state procedural rules, and each has a deadline that cannot be missed without consequences. Clean, procedurally correct filings move a case forward; sloppy ones invite motions to strike, amended responses, and avoidable delays.
Important Notice
This template is provided for informational purposes. It is not legal advice. We recommend having an attorney review any legal document before signing, especially for high-value or complex matters.
Checked against the law it cites
A reviewer verified this template's legal citations against the official source on 2026-08-30.
Last updated: 2026-08-30
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