Isn't One Court System Enough?
There is a concept in civil practice and procedure known as concurrent jurisdiction. Concurrent jurisdiction means that two court systems have the power to hear and decide a dispute. Usually, but not always, the plaintiff, the party that starts the suit« has a right to decide which court shall hear the case. Courts of Illinois and Indiana may have the right to adjudicate a dispute about a contract made in Illinois but performed in Indiana. Or for the purpose of this discussion, a contract dispute could be heard by the Circuit Court of Cook County or the United States District Court in Chicago. assuming the parties are residents of different states and the controversy exceeds the sum of $10.000.
Why would we want to be in the Federal court system? It actually costs more money to file the suit. Instead of 60.00 it costs 150-00. What do we get for our money?
1. In our county we avoid delay. We can file suit and serve the defendant the same day using private process servers without the necessity of getting court permission to do so. The defendant must answer in twenty days from service instead of thirty days.
2. The judiciary of the Federal courts is generally filled from the experienced trial judges of the state courts and eminent trial counsel who have had extensive trial experience.
3. Strict adherence to Federal Rule 11 which requires that all parties. plaintiffs and defendants and their attorneys only assert claims and defenses that have been investigated and are not frivolous. The penalty for violation being payment of attorneys fees to the other side. From our standpoint this cuts down on false and frivolous defenses.
4. Our office is across the street from the Federal court. We can handle suits against debtors in a eight county area: Cook. DuPage, Lake, Grundy, Will, Kane, Kendall and LaSalle counties. Our clients can use the services of a firm with over 70 years of experience in commercial law.
5. The defendant is forced to come into Chicago from the outlying county to defend the case instead of our client paying us to travel to an outlying county to litigate the claim.
6. Once a judgment is obtained the Federal courts have traditionally been zealous in assisting creditors in executing on their judgments. The court doesn't seem to stand on ceremony, debtors don't dare ignore a Federal court order in the same way they might an order of a state court. No debtor wants the F.B.I, after them. They don't get too worried about a deputy sheriff.
Teller, Levit & Silvertrust, P.C. attorneys are experts at Federal court litigation. By making a Federal case out of a collection matter we have been able to provide the commercial creditor with services that were until now only previously obtainable at great expense. Please contact us with any questions you might have about use of the Federal courts or other commercial collection issues.
The material contained herein is not to be relied upon as a substitute for consultation with your attorney.