Statement of claim

Statements of claim must be filed with the courts in legible typewritten form in A4 format, or by e-mail with a digital signature. The statements of claim must set out the following:

1)  the name of the court with which the action is filed. For that purpose you must know which court has jurisdiction over the action. If it is a contractual dispute, you must first check whether the contract contains any agreement regarding the court which has jurisdiction over disputes. If there is no agreement on the jurisdiction, it will arise from law. Here, the Code of Civil procedure stipulates a rule pursuant to which an action must be filed with the court of the residence (address) of the defendant who is a natural person or with the court of the seat (address) of the defendant who is a legal person (e.g. a public limited company). But what should be done if the defendant's address is unknown? An action against a defendant whose residence is unknown may be filed with the court of the location of an immovable of the defendant or with the court of the defendant’s last known residence. For instance, an action against a person residing in Tartu must be filed with the Tartu County Court, but an action against a person residing in Keila must be filed with the Harju County Court. In certain events the law stipulates exclusive jurisdiction (CCP § 141) which cannot be amended by a contract: an action concerning an immovable must be filed with the court of the location of the immovable; an action arising from a residential lease contract must be filed with the court of the location of the dwelling;

2)  the data of the plaintiff: the name, personal identification code (if the plaintiff is a legal person, a copy of the registry card), residence or seat, address, employment (occupation or area of activity) and telecommunications numbers of the plaintiff and, if the plaintiff has a representative, the name and address of the representative;

3)  the data of the defendant: the name, residence or seat, address, employment (occupation or area of activity) and telecommunications numbers of the plaintiff; if the address of the defendant is unknown to the plaintiff, the statement of claim must set out what the plaintiff has done in order to obtain the address of the defendant;

4)  the clearly expressed claim of the plaintiff and the value of the action if the action has a value. The value of an action must be specified by the plaintiff. If the value of an action apparently does not correspond to the actual value of the actionable property, the value of the action will be determined by the court.

The value of an action will be determined pursuant to the Chapter 17 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

5)  the facts on which the action is based, in other words the reason why the plaintiff takes recourse to the court (e.g. a debt claim against someone, violation of a contract by a partner, etc.). As the facts on which the action is based, the statement of claim must set out the facts on the basis of which the plaintiff finds that his or her rights have been violated.

6)  evidence which proves the facts on which the action is based. The main rule of civil proceedings is that both parties must prove the facts which serve as the basis for their claims and objections. Evidence in a civil matter is any information which is in a procedural form provided by law and on the basis of which the court ascertains the existence or lack of facts relevant to the just adjudication of the matter. Evidence may be the testimony of a witness, statements of a party or third party, documentary evidence, physical evidence, an on-the-spot visit of inspection or an expert opinion (the expert must be appointed by the court);

7)  a list of documentary evidence annexed to the statement of claim. Documentary evidence is a written document or other documents which is recorded by way of photography, video, audio or other data recording;

8)  a statement of claim for divorce, in addition to the information specified above, must set out the years of birth of the spouses, the names and dates of birth of the common children of the spouses, the person who maintains and raises the children, the person with whom the children reside and how the lives of the children will be arranged after the divorce;

9)  a statement of claim for division of joint property must set out the composition and location of the property, the assessment of the plaintiff as to the value of each object and a proposal for the division of joint property. If the spouses have entered into a marital property contract, it must be annexed to the statement of claim.

A statement of claim must be signed by the plaintiff or a representative thereof. In the latter event a representative must annex an authorisation document or other document which proves his or her authorisation.

A statement of claim or signed by the plaintiff or a representative thereof must be filed with a court along with legible copies for each defendant as well as copies of documents for the defendants and third parties and a document proving payment of the state fee.

A petition filed in a matter on petition is subject to the same rules of form as a statement of claim.

Sample statement of claim (in Estonian)