Orange County Civil Court Records Search
Understanding the Orange County CA civil court system is helpful for all those that deal with non criminal cases. These types of cases range from small claims and contract disputes, to divorces and family legal matters. The majority of civil cases in Orange County are heard by the Superior Courts. They have a civil division that deals specifically with non criminal legal matters. In some situations there are specialty courts that deal with other non criminal situations such as mental health issues or juvenile adoption and guardianships. In this guide, we'll delve into the types of civil cases, as well as provide a step-by-step guide on how to look up civil court records online.
Types of Civil Cases in Orange County Courts
The Orange County Superior Court in California handles the lion's share of civil cases in the county. Here’s a list of common types of civil court cases heard in the OC:
1). Contract Disputes: Includes contract disagreements, breach of contracts, employment contracts, and business disputes.
2). Personal Injury Claims: These cases primarily include auto accident claims, work injury claims, medical malpractice suits, and product liability cases.
3). Real Estate Issues: These involve landlord and tenant disputes, foreclosure actions, property disputes, and eminent domain cases.
4). Family Law: These family legal issues include divorces, dissolution of marriage, child custody and support, domestic violence and restraining orders, and adoptions.
5). Probate: These cases originate after a person's death. They include wills and estate administration, trusts and conservatorships, discernment of assets and properties.
6). Unlawful Detainer: Includes evictions, tenant holdovers, non rental payments, and breach of lease agreements.
7). Small Claims: Cases involving amounts less than $5k for businesses and $10k for individuals. These can include damages, injury claims, unpaid bills, and contract disputes.
8). Business Litigation: Business civil claims involve corporate and partnership disputes, fraud, embezzlement, arbitrage claims, and unfair marketing tactics.
9). Harassment and Restraining Orders: Personal and workplace harassment orders, personal restraining orders, and other non-violent domestic threats.
10). Employment Law: Including discrimination claims, wage disputes, unsafe work conditions, wrongful termination.
11). Class Action Lawsuits: Class action civil suits are large claims often involving large groups of plaintiffs, consumer rights violations, large liability claims, and employee rights.
How to Lookup Orange County Civil Court Records
Accessing civil court records can be done through the OC Superior Courts. They have an online portal for public access where you can lookup court records by case number. If you do not know the case number then you'll need to contact the Clerk of the Courts. Another option to lookup OC civil court records is to use a third party resource. There are privately run court record and public record websites that allow users to lookup civil case records by name, as well as case number. This is a good option for anyone wanting to find case information with a name search. While these third party resources are primarily intended for research and reference, it's a good starting point to track down a case number.