Raising and defending actions in court
This content applies to Scotland only.
Housing laws vary between Scotland and England. Get advice relating to England
Whether you are taking a case to court or defending a case, you need to know what to do, what procedure to follow and what some technical legal terms mean, this section can help. If your landlord is taking you to court to try and evict you, you need to look at the pages on summary cause procedure for more information.
If someone is taking you to court
If someone is making a claim against you and taking you to court, there are several different procedures they can follow.
Small claims actions
Small claims procedure is the simplest type of civil law case that sheriff courts can deal with. This page explains what a small claims action is.
Raising a small claims action
If you want to take someone to court using the small claims procedure, you'll have to 'raise an action' by filling in specific forms and following certain rules. This page explains what to do.
Defending a small claims action
This page explains how you'll know if someone is taking you to court using the small claims procedure. It also tells you what your options are and how to respond.
Summary cause actions
Summary cause procedure deals with claims over £3,000 and up to £5,000. It can also be used for cases that are too complicated for small claims but not complicated enough for ordinary cause procedure. If your landlord is taking you to court to try and evict you, they must use the summary cause procedure.
Raising a summary cause action
If you want to take someone to court using summary cause procedure, you'll have to 'raise an action' by filling in specific forms and following certain rules. Summary cause is more complicated than small claims so you might prefer to get a solicitor to represent you. In housing law, summary cause procedure is used in eviction cases.
Defending a summary cause action
If your landlord is taking you to court to try and evict you, it'll be under summary cause procedure. But don't panic - this page tells you what to do if you're in this situation including how to defend your case and where you can get advice.
Ordinary cause actions
If your case involves a claim for more than £5,000 or is about an issue that involves complicated law (like divorce) it'll be dealt with under ordinary cause procedure. This page explains more.
Judicial review
Judicial review is a specialised and complicated procedure that is only used in certain circumstances. If your case gets to that stage, you'll need legal advice from a solicitor. This page explains some of the key things you'll need to know.
