Law Blog

Being sued in Queensland could take a variety of forms.

• Being served with an application in the Queensland Civil & Administrative Tribunal (QCAT)
• Being served with an application in the Federal Magistrates Court of Australia or Family Court of Australia
• Being served with an application in the District or Supreme Courts of Queensland
• Being served with a Claim & Statement of Claim in the Magistrates, District or Supreme Courts of Queensland
• ... or some other document saying that somebody wants you to do something and that they intend to use the full force of the law to compel you to do so

If you receive a document that leads you to believe you are being sued, it is tempting to panic and do one of two things: 1/ freak out and pay an amount of money to the person who is suing you just to make this new stress go away or 2/ ignore the document you have been served with completely.

Neither of these courses of action are advisable. If you simply roll over and cough up the cash you are being asked to pay, you may be doing so for no good legal reason. If you ignore the document entirely there is a real possibility the plaintiff/ applicant will automatically get what he or she is wanting when the court delivers to them 'default judgment' simply because you have failed to defend yourself.

In fact, the only truly advisable course of action is to seek advice from an Australian Legal Practitioner (a lawyer/ solicitor). The lawyer/ solicitor doesn't have to be located in your town - they can be anywhere in Queensland, but obviously if you live near Brisbane it could be handy to actually drop in and see your lawyer to make communication faster. Usually the phone coupled with telephone & e-mail will suffice though.

The main reason why you shouldn't panic is that there are many things that could be wrong with the document you have been served with which could render it void. Your lawyer can help you ascertain whether or not the document:

• has been filed in the correct court/ jurisdiction
• has been completed correctly or if there are mistakes that render it void
• has been served on you in a valid way or if the way you were given the document means that you are free to ignore it
• has a legal basis at all
• requires you to defend yourself, and what shape this defence should take

Remember that the claim or application you have been served with is one person or company's version of events, and you have time (usually several weeks depending on what exactly the document is and which court is handling the matter) to respond to it by putting to the court your own version of events. In this way you are able to properly defend yourself and with a lawyer's help you can really maximise your chances of seeing justice prevail.

So if you are sued, your first port of call should be to contact a lawyer who can talk you through the situation and help you see it for what it is - a situation that is usually far less confusing and stressful than you may first think.

This website contains general information only. This site does not contain any legal advice. If you require legal advice, contact an Australian Legal Practitioner.