Newspapers / The Tryon Daily Bulletin … / Oct. 15, 1980, edition 1 / Page 3
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Law For Laypersons Small Claims court. Part II (Written by Charles C. Lewis, Assistant Professor of Law, Campbell College School of Law for the North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers and distributed as a public service) The North Carolina General Assembly originally provided in G. S. No. 7A-210 that the amount in controversy in a small claim action could not exceed three hundred dollars. Subsequently, the amount in controversy was increased to a maximum of five hundred dollars and finally to the present maximum of eight hundred dollars. In addition, the object of the claim must be to recover no more than eight hundred dollars or to recover specific personal properly worth no more than eight hundred dollars or to force a person to move out of or off of real property owned by the person making the claim If the claim is made for something else or involves a greater amount of money, it will not be heard as a small claim before a magistrate but as an ordinary claim in the District Court or the Superior Court, depending on the amount in controversy and the particular remedy requested It is fine to know that there is a court specifically set up to consider just small claims as ordinary people have from time to time, but if a person is not a lawyer, what does he do to get such a claim going? After all. lawyers seem to use several pages of legal-size paper to state a claim, and everything looks so official when handled by a lawyer. Since non lawyers should be able to make use of the small claims action without worrying whether they do everything just like a lawyer, the General Assembly has made the beginning of the suit fairly easy. G. S. No. 7A-216 states that the complaint should simply be put in writing and signed by the party making the complaint. It need not be in any particular form, but it should, of course, be plain enough so that a person of common understanding can read it and know exactly what is being said. Naturally, you would expect that the person against whom the complaint is being made should, in all fairness, be able to read the complaint and know exactly what the controversy is about. Just to make sure that everybody understood how simple the complaint could be the General Assembly then set out in G. S. No. 7A-232 various forms which a person can follow in making out a complaint to be filed as a small claim action. For example, if you loaned someone eight hundred dollars, and he does not pay the money back Form 7 in G. S. No. 7A-232 shows you exactly how your complaint should look. The form gives you an example of the caption to be used, tells you that you must state the residence of the parties, and provides a simple statement as an example to show how you state your claim for money loaned but not paid back. Other forms include those for a suit on a promissory note, a suit on an open account, a suit for goods sold and delivered, a suit for injury to personal property, and a suit to recover personal property. If it should happen that your complaint is not written so that a person of common understanding can know what is meant, the District Court Judge, who will review the complaint, can order that it be done again to make it clearer If you need extra time in which to make the complaint clearer, the judge may postpone the date of the trial until you have revised your complaint. "This article is written as a matter of general interest only. It is not to be construed as legal advice, and you should not rely on the statements made in the article to govern your actions in any specific case, if you have a particular question or problem, you should contact an attorney. FOK SALE: 1976 Honda Civic in good condition Call 663 -1306 after 5pm adv. 15,16 Experienced DOG grooming Daily Bulletin. Wed., Ocl ' '^t". liming needs contact you ^ ^^ extension office for soil ,| and information s .h e f N testing is a free serv.ce of he £ C. Department of Agr^.^ (Larry Bass. CX horticulturist) . n Q. My fig bush has gottens • it is difficult to reach the ^ s - I cut back the canes withou reducing the next crop of lip. so, when is the best time to os (W.E . Kenansville) A. Figs are produced on the current season's growth. However, you are likely to get about a 50 percent reduction in yield if'you cut the entire bush back to the ground. One suggestion is to cut one large branch back to the soil line each year. New shoots will develop. Eventually, you will have only new growth while maintaining good yields. Of course, you can also "head back" each cane, and you should remove droopy canes. Prune in late winter, just before new growth starts. (Mel Kolbe, extension horticulturist) Tryon Garden Clinic N. C. State University Answers Timely Gardening (Questions Q. What advice can you give me on ripening green tomatoes remaining on the vine when the first frost arrives? (W. F., Pittsboro) A. One suggestion is to cut the entire vine and hang it in a warm (60 to 70 degrees) shelter or basement Another suggestion is to pick the tomatoes, wrap them in newspaper and store them at 50 to 60 degrees If you have only a few tomatoes, you might place them on a shelf or window sill to ripen You can extend the storage life of tomatoes by trying to save only those that are insect and disease free. (Larry Bass, extension horticulturist) Q I saw a recommendation which said apply 1,000 pounds of fertilizer per acre. How would a gardener translate this? (R. M., Greensboro) A. 1,000 pounds per acre is the same as two and one-thirds pounds per 100 feet of row. (George Hughes, extension horticulturist) Q It has been at least five years since I added lime to my garden soil How much lime do you think I should add this fall? (N S . Timberlake) A. None until you have had your soil tested. Garden soils that are in a high state of fertility do not require the addition of lime. But to make certain about your Experienced, responsible lady wants full or part time domestic or baby sitting job. Mrs. Jackson, 457-2897. adv. 15,16 pd. FOK SALE: 1971 Furnish Mobile Home. In excellent condition. Ready to be delivered. Call 859-5553 anytime, adv. 15, 17 pd
The Tryon Daily Bulletin (Tryon, N.C.)
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Oct. 15, 1980, edition 1
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