"Judge, it's too difficult for me now, I really can't pay the money, plus the litigation fees, I can't get it out!"
"Our case is quite simple, the facts of the defendant's infringement are very clear, and the amount of compensation we claim is not high, how long will it take for this situation to be adjudicated?"
"The defendant who closed the store said that it would take a long time from the prosecution to the execution of their company accounts, and they appealed, he is not in a hurry, I am in a hurry!"
In the process of handling cases, I will always hear some parties say such "words from the heart" to me. In these cases, the proper use of the small claims procedure strikes a balance between fairness and efficiency.
According to article 165 of the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China, where the basic level people's courts and the tribunals dispatched by them hear simple civil cases of monetary payment where the facts are clear, the relationship between rights and obligations is clear, and the controversy is not large, and the subject matter is less than 50 percent of the average annual wages of employed persons in each province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government in the previous year, the procedures for small claims litigation shall be applied, and the first instance shall be finalized. At present, Beijing stipulates that the subject matter of the case subject matter of the small claims procedure is less than 67,783.5 yuan, and it will be adjusted every year according to the adjustment of the average wage.
Where the basic level people's courts and the tribunals dispatched by them hear civil cases provided for in the preceding paragraph, where the subject matter exceeds 50 percent but is less than 2 times the average annual wage of employed persons in each province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government, the parties may also agree to apply the procedures for small claims litigation. At present, the subject matter of the small claims procedure is more than 67,783.5 yuan to less than 271134 yuan if the parties in Beijing agree to apply the small claims procedure.
"The legal fee is $10"
In order to start a business, Xiao Wang applied for a loan of 130,000 yuan from the bank for production and operation, and at the same time insured personal loan guarantee insurance. However, after the loan expired, he still did not pay, and the insurance company paid the claim to the bank and sued Xiao Wang to the court.
"I have no objection to the amount of the lawsuit. Due to the epidemic, the flow of funds has been greatly affected. Now I have an income of a few thousand yuan a month, and I have to take care of the elderly and children, which is stretched. "Although he was unable to repay the loan, Xiao Wang has been actively responding to the lawsuit, did not evade, and was very sincere in court." The plaintiff demanded that I bear the legal costs, which I could not afford. The more Xiao Wang spoke, the more he lowered his head.
"There is little dispute between the parties in this case, and the amount of the plaintiff's claim is within the scope of the small claims procedure that can be negotiated, are you both willing to negotiate the application of the small claims procedure? If the small claims procedure is applied, the judgment rendered by the court of first instance is final, but according to the regulations of the Beijing High Court, the litigation fee for the small claims judgment is only 10 yuan. ”
"I do!" Xiao Wang said immediately.
"Judge, the defendant's attitude has always been very good, he is now in financial difficulties, we can understand it, and we also agree to apply the small claims procedure." The insurer also agreed to the small claims procedure.
After receiving the documents, Xiao Wang said: "Thank you to the judge for telling me that the law still has such a small amount of procedure, which really helped me relieve a lot of financial burden." Rest assured, I will find a way to raise funds and pay back the money as soon as possible. ”
Although he lost the lawsuit, the litigation fee of 10 yuan made Xiao Wang feel the temperature of the judiciary.
"20 days, Beijing's efficiency is amazing"
The plaintiff company owned a well-known clothing brand and enjoyed a registered trademark. The defendant opened a store on the Weidian platform without permission and sold goods marked with the registered trademark logo enjoyed by the plaintiff, which infringed the plaintiff's exclusive right to use the registered trademark, so the plaintiff sued the court and demanded compensation of 50,000 yuan for economic losses and reasonable expenses.
As soon as the case was filed, I received a call from the plaintiff's representative: "Judge, I am a lawyer from another place, and I know that the number of cases is very large now, and this is actually a small case, how long will we have to wait?" ”
I opened the file and saw that the facts of infringement in this case were clear and the amount of compensation claimed by the plaintiff was not high, so I told the plaintiff's agent: "This case is subject to the small claims procedure in accordance with the law, and the first instance is final, you can rest assured, we will handle it as soon as possible." ”
It took only 20 days from the time the plaintiff submitted the complaint to the conclusion of the case.
The plaintiff said that this is the first time that a lawsuit has been filed in a Beijing court, and Beijing's efficiency is amazing!
"Wishful thinking has failed"
Xiao Liu signed a swimming lesson training agreement with a fitness company and paid more than 50,000 yuan for the training. After paying the fee, Xiao Liu was unable to attend classes due to physical reasons, so he negotiated with the fitness company for a refund, but the other party insisted on not returning, and Xiao Liu had no choice but to file a lawsuit.
When organizing mediation between the two parties before the trial, the legal representative of the fitness company had a very tough attitude. After several rounds of communication, the company's legal representative revealed his true thoughts: "Judge, let's make a judgment, we will appeal after the judgment." From the trial, to the issuance of the judgment, to the second instance, there must be a small half a year in between, anyway, we will not refund the fee, and let the plaintiff apply for enforcement when the time comes. There are so many cases in your court, and when it comes to us, it will be early, so why should we return the money to him now. ”
Hearing this, I criticized him for wanting to use the lawsuit to delay time, and told him: "Your 'wishful thinking' is about to come to naught, the rights and obligations of both parties in this case are clear, the subject matter is small, and the small claims procedure is applied to the trial in accordance with the law." The court will quickly conclude the trial within two months, and the first instance will be final, and the judgment will take effect. Even if the enforcement procedure is initiated, the judges of the enforcement division will quickly enforce the cases that have been concluded in the small claims proceedings. ”
"The application of small claims procedures, if the two parties mediate, according to the regulations of the Beijing court, there is no litigation fee, which is also a cost saving for your company!" I continued.
After a moment of silence, the legal representative of the company said: "Judge, we agree to mediate, but the company's cash flow is really not abundant at present, please ask the court to help us do more work, and it is not easy for the company to ......."
In the end, the plaintiff and the defendant reached a mediation plan to refund the training fees in installments. On the day the agreement was signed, both parties expressed their gratitude to me. The plaintiff said: "The defendant's attitude was so resolute at the beginning, but I didn't expect to agree to mediation in the end, take the initiative to refund, and the small amount procedure is really good!" The defendant said, "Thank you for keeping us from making mistakes again and again, and for helping us reach such a good mediation plan, which eases our cash pressure." ”
The life of the system lies in its implementation. In my opinion, if we want to fully release the advantages and efficiency of the system of simplifying, fast and economical small claims procedures, and let small claims procedures help "big", judges need to consider the parties with the heart of "as I am suing", and through timely prompts, patient explanations and active guidance, we can effectively improve fairness and efficiency and promote the conclusion of cases.
Contributed by: Dongcheng Courthouse
Editor: Yang Qingyu Xiao Fei
Review: Zhang Lei