Once the case is filed the court clerk will fill out their portion of the civil warrant and they will then send this information to the sheriff’s office in the country where the defendant is located. A deputy or private party will serve the defendant with their summons. If a home address is available the summons can be attached to the home’s door or it can be posted in a visible location. However, if the only address available is a work address, then the summons has to be served to the person being summoned. If the person is not located the summons will be returned to the court as unserved.
The civil warrant will include the time, date, and location of the trial, as well the grounds for the suit. If the defendant is legally served with a summons and they fail to show up at the trial then the judge will enter a default judgement in favor of the plaintiff. This means that the plaintiff wins their case and should get the amount of restitution that they documented on their forms.
In cases where the defendant was served a warrant via a posting at their home without physically accepting the summons, then the plaintiff will need to complete a few extra steps before a default judgement can be filed. They will need to produce evidence that they mailed copy of the civil warrant to the defendant at least 10 days prior to the court date. This evidence can be a certified mail form, or a return receipt form from the letter that was sent. (These mail services are less than $3 in most cases.) You should also use a form Certificate such as DC-413 to prove that you mailed a copy of the civil warrant to the defendant.
If the situation is reversed and the plaintiff fails to appear in court then the defendant has the option of asking the judge to rule in their favor and against the plaintiff. The defendant may also request that the case be removed from the small claims court and be moved to the general district court. To do this they simply have to fill in the Removal to General District Court form that is on the back of the civil warrant. If this option is selected the form has to be filled out and returned to the court prior to the initial small claims court trial date.