Rule 4.1 - Filing Small Claim Complaint(a)The Claim (1) Small claim cases shall be filed electronically as required under the New Hampshire Circuit Court Electronic Filing Pilot Rules unless an exemption to electronic filing as allowed under the Rules is requested and granted. (2) A small claim shall be set forth on a court generated Small Claim Complaint form. It shall not be considered filed until the fee has been paid or a properly supported motion to waive filing fee has been submitted. (See District Division Rule 3.3 for filing fees.) (3) The small claims filing fee shall not be waived except upon presentation of facts which demonstrate extraordinary circumstances. (4) The claim must include: (A) The business or other relationship between the plaintiff and defendant and a description setting forth with specificity the reason(s) the plaintiff believes that the defendant owes money to the plaintiff; (B) The amount that the plaintiff claims that the defendant owes. NOTE: If the plaintiff claims to be owed more than $10,000, the filing of the small claim complaint will waive any amount due beyond the small claims limit of $10,000. If the plaintiff does not want to waive the amount over $10,000, a civil writ must be filed instead of a small claim; (C) If the basis for recovery asserted in the small claim complaint is the extension of consumer credit, the plaintiff shall file a Statement of Consumer Debt which provides the following: (i) If the plaintiff is a person or entity other than the original creditor, a statement that the plaintiff has a right to assert the claim and a listing of all prior owners of the claim commencing with the original creditor; (ii) The account number/account identifier, if any, assigned to the obligation. The account number/account identifier shall be redacted to show only the last four digits; (iii) The date of the last payment made, if any;(iv) A designation of principal, interest, charges and fees calculated either in accordance with the laws applicable to the obligation or in accordance with the practice in credit card cases of treating the charge off balance as principal and itemizing any additional interest or fees after that date. (b)The Parties(1) The following information shall be included in the small claim filing: (A) Name, address (residence and mailing) and date of birth of the plaintiff(s). The date of birth shall be submitted on the Small Claim Confidential Information Sheet and shall be confidential as to non-parties to comply with the New Hampshire Circuit Court Electronic Filing Pilot Rules. Access to these documents shall be pursuant to District Division Rule 1.26; (B) Name, address (residence and mailing) of the defendant(s); (C) If the plaintiff is a business entity, the nature of the business entity;(D) If the defendant is a business entity: (i) The nature of the business entity; and(ii) The individual who is to be served with the small claim and the capacity in which that individual is to be served (e.g. agent for service, corporate officer, member, manager, owner) and that individual's address (physical and mailing) if different from that of the business entity. (2) A person who files or responds to a small claim on behalf of another individual or entity must file the statement required by District Division Rule 1.3(D). In addition, one of the following authorizations must be filed with the court: (A) For an individual acting on behalf of another, a power of attorney or other valid authorizing document authorizing the filing of legal actions; or(B) For an individual acting on behalf of an entity: (i) For a corporation, a resolution adopted by the board of directors; (ii) For a partnership, an authorization signed by a general partner; (iii) For a trust, an authorization signed by a trustee; (iv) For a limited liability company, an authorization signed by a member with management authority. (See also RSA 503:11.) (C) The requirements of this paragraph (2) do not apply to attorneys who are licensed to practice law in the State of New Hampshire. N.H. R. Cir. Ct. Sm. Clm. 4.1
Amended Dec. 29, 2014, eff. 7/1/2015; amended June 25, 2015, eff. 7/1/2015.