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Searching for your court case status online is like ^^

Summary: Are you trying to look up your North Dakota court case? Below is SoloSuit's guide on North Dakot's civil court system, how to access court records there, and how to respond to a lawsuit.

The North Dakota Constitution under Section 6, Article XI stipulates that the public has a right to access court case records. This clause mandated North Dakota government agencies and judicial departments to open most files for public inspection, including the case dockets (records detailing court proceedings).

All debt collection cases are available online, and you can access the records if you know the court in which your creditors filed the lawsuit and your case number. If you do not know your case number, you can find it by going to the North Dakota online platform and entering your full name, your attorney or the creditor's attorney's name and bar number, the court, and the date the case was filed. You can confirm the attorney's details using the following link: Lawyers - North Dakota Supreme Court

The dates and type of court are extremely vital because these are the parameters mostly used to create the case number. An example of a case number is 09-2022-CV-0245.

This article will help you understand how North Dakota's civil court structure works and how to find your court records online.

Let's jump right in.

Understand North Dakota's civil court system

Knowing how the civil court structure works in North Dakota will help you locate your case easier. It's important to understand which court has jurisdiction over your case. This will help you know who to contact and where to search online for your case status.

Civil cases are between private parties and usually involve one party suing the other. This is different from criminal cases, which involve the violation of a crime, or probate cases, which deal with wills. Civil cases are also different from family law, which deals with divorce and child custody matters. Below, we will primarily focus on North Dakota's civil court structure.

In North Dakota, civil lawsuits are handled by one of the three judicial levels:

Supreme Court–the state Supreme Court hears appeals that rise above the Temporary Court of Appeals.
Temporary Court of Appeals–the Temporary Court of Appeals listens to appeals of cases from the District Courts.
District Court–handles everything from small claims for cases up to $15,000 and all civil cases for the state.

The Supreme Court is the highest level of the judiciary in the state of Nebraska. This court deals with civil cases that have been appealed when a party of the case disagrees with the court's decision.

Similarly, The Court of Temporary Appeals handles cases that have been appealed from the District Court.

At the lowest judicial level, the District Court has jurisdiction over civil cases with no monetary limit. A case is considered a small claims case in the District Court if it involves less than $15,000. All civil cases are initiated in the District Court.

The graphic below illustrates the civil court structure in North Dakota:

North Dakota court structure

Access court records in North Dakota

You have three options available for accessing court records in North Dakota:

Remote access
Court public terminals
Call the court clerk

Below, we take a closer look at these three options.

Remote Access

North Dakota court records are available online directly from the state's court website or third-party websites. Debt collection cases are found under the District Court Case Search. Click on your county and fill in the following information under civil, family, and probate case records:

Full name (mandatory)
Case status
Date filed
Case type

The platform also allows you to enter your name only, if you do not have more information about the lawsuit. If that fails, you can use third-party websites such as infotracer. However, third-party platforms take longer to upload a case if it is still ongoing.

Court public terminals

North Dakota residents can access court records using public terminals that most courthouses have installed. Most courthouses allow you to print copies from any county, while others permit documents for the cases in the particular courthouse.

Call the Court Clerk

If you are unable to locate your case information online by using the North Dakota online platform mentioned above, then you should call the clerk of court's office for the county where your case is filed.

You can use this North Dakota court directory to find your court clerk's phone number. Just hover over and select the county in which your court resides, and a directory with the clerk's name and number will open on the next page. As long as you have the case information (party names, case number, etc.), the clerk should be able to give you the case status over the phone.

Respond to a debt lawsuit in North Dakota

When you are sued for debt in North Dakota, you only have 21 days to respond before you lose by default. The first step to winning your debt lawsuit is to respond with a written Answer. You can create an Answer document with SoloSuit's help in just 15 minutes.

Let's take a look at an example.

Example: Andy had a credit card debt assigned to Pinnacle and later discharged to Credico. Credico sued him for a debt of $8,800; this included late fee charges. Andy was sure he did not have a massive debt as indicated in the lawsuit, so he responded with an Answer that he created on SoloSuit's website and submitted it to the court within 21 days. After going a few months without hearing anything, Andy wanted to follow up on the case. When he looked the case up online, he found out that Credico did not have the proper documentation to prove their claims, and so they dismissed the case.

Follow these six tips to draft an Answer that will help you present a strong case to the court:

What is SoloSuit?

SoloSuit makes it easy to fight debt collectors.

You can use SoloSuit to respond to a debt lawsuit, to send letters to collectors, and even to settle a debt.

SoloSuit's Answer service is a step-by-step web-app that asks you all the necessary questions to complete your Answer. Upon completion, we'll have an attorney review your document and we'll file it for you.

Respond with SoloSuit

"First time getting sued by a debt collector and I was searching all over YouTube and ran across SoloSuit, so I decided to buy their services with their attorney reviewed documentation which cost extra but it was well worth it! SoloSuit sent the documentation to the parties and to the court which saved me time from having to go to court and in a few weeks the case got dismissed!" – James

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>>Read the FastCompany article: Debt Lawsuits Are Complicated: This Website Makes Them Simpler To Navigate