How an action is raised
Chapter 3 of the Ordinary Cause Rules deals with raising an action. An ordinary cause action is raised with an initial writ (Form G1). The pursuer must send or take the initial writ to the relevant sheriff court.
Which is the relevant sheriff court?
The relevant sheriff court is generally the court that has jurisdiction in the action. For example, where the pursuer lives in Glasgow, but the defender lives in Edinburgh, generally the action would be raised in the jurisdiction that covers the defender so the action would be raised in Edinburgh. There are exceptions to this, and legal advice should be sought by the pursuer before raising the initial writ if they are unsure about the correct jurisdiction.
A fee must be paid to start the action. Information about fees payable and whether an exemption can be claimed by the pursuer can be found on the Scottish courts website.1 The pursuer is then asked about their case and the action they want the court to take. This is written down as part of the initial writ. The pursuer asks for the court to issue an order to allow them to ‘serve the initial writ’ on the defender.2Chapter 5 Ordinary Cause Rules The court then sends the paperwork back to the pursuer so that they can start the action by serving it on the defender. It is the pursuer’s responsibility to serve the initial writ. A Form of Citation (Form O4) is served on the defender. The defender has 21 days to respond after being served the writ.