The Clerk of Court’s Role in Small Claims Cases

When a litigant presents a complaint and asks that the case be heard in small claims court, a clerk has different responsibilities than when a plaintiff wishes to file any other sort of civil case. Those responsibilities are critically important, and failure to perform them correctly can lead to additional time and effort on the part of court officials, added expense and delay for litigants, and even judgments ultimately declared void. The source of these additional duties are several little-known statutory provisions in G.S. Ch. 7A, Art. 19, governing small claims procedure.