NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A2855
SPONSOR: Zebrowski TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the uniform justice court act, in relation to civil
jurisdictional limits and increasing filing fees
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEAL OF BILL:
Increases the jurisdictional limit from $3,000 to %5,000 for civil
justice courts.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section one of this bill amends section 201 of the Uniform Justice Court
Act, to increase the jurisdictional limit of the small claims, money
actions and actions to recover chattels from $3,000 to $5,300.
Section two of this bill amends section 202 of the Uniform Justice Court
Act, to increase the jurisdictional limit of the small claims, money
actions and actions to recover chattels from $3, Oil to $5,000.
Section three of the bill amends section 801 of the uniform justice
court act as it relates to the definition of small claims.
Section four of the bill amends section 1803 of the uniform justice
court act as it relates to increasing the filing fees from $10 to $13
for Claims less than $1,000 and from $15 to $20 for claims over $1,000.
Section five of the bill relates to the effective date. JUSTIFICATION:
Jurisdictional limits in the Uniform Justice Court Act were last
increased over thirty years ago from 52,000 to $3,000 (Chap. 268 of
1977) and small claims defined over thirteen years ago from $2,000 to
$3,000 (Chap. 76 of 1976). This $3,000 limit is no longer adequate to
cover many basic claims, with the result tilt claimants are forced to
choose between artificially lowering their claims in order to fall with
the limits or litigating outside of the local justice courts. To bring a
case in supreme court it now costs at least $210 just to file and
request a hearing. This bill will bring the limits up to date allowing
citizens to litigate small matters without the cost and expense of
Supreme Court.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
A.1864 of 2021-22,
A.3799A of 2019-20,
A.2157 of 2017-18,
A.1935 of 2015-2016,
A.1746 of 2013-2014,
A.2091 of 2011-2012,
A.3876 of 2009-2010,
A.10731 of 2007-2008.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeeding the
date on which it shall have become a law and shall apply to actions or
proceedings filed on or after such date.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
2855
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 27, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ZEBROWSKI, GUNTHER, STECK, OTIS, THIELE, PAULIN,
PALMESANO, FRIEND, BRABENEC, NORRIS -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A.
GLICK, McDONOUGH, PEOPLES-STOKES, SIMON -- read once and referred to
the Committee on Judiciary
AN ACT to amend the uniform justice court act, in relation to civil
jurisdictional limits and increasing filing fees
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision a of section 201 of the uniform justice court
2 act, as amended by chapter 685 of the laws of 1977, is amended to read
3 as follows:
4 a. The court shall have jurisdiction as set forth in this article and
5 as elsewhere provided by law[, subject, in the case of a city court
6 governed by this act, to the limitations stated in § 2300 (b) (2) (i) of
7 this act]. The phrase "[$3000] $5000", whenever it appears herein, shall
8 be taken to mean "[$3000] $5000 exclusive of interest and costs"[,
9 except that, in the case of a city court governed by this act whose
10 monetary jurisdiction is, pursuant to § 2300 (b) (2) (i) of this act,
11 below $3000, it shall be taken to mean such lesser sum as is applicable
12 in the particular court, exclusive of interest and costs].
13 § 2. Section 202 of the uniform justice court act, as amended by chap-
14 ter 685 of the laws of 1977, is amended to read as follows:
15 § 202. Money actions and actions to recover chattels.
16 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the court shall have
17 jurisdiction of actions and proceedings for the recovery of money or
18 chattels where the amount sought to be recovered or the value of the
19 property does not exceed [$3000] $5000.
20 § 3. Section 1801 of the uniform justice court act, as amended by
21 chapter 485 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read as follows:
22 § 1801. Small claims defined.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD06372-01-3
A. 2855 2
1 The term "small claim" or "small claims" as used in this act shall
2 mean and include any cause of action for money only not in excess of
3 [three] five thousand dollars exclusive of interest and costs, provided
4 that the defendant either resides, or has an office for the transaction
5 of business or a regular employment within the municipality where the
6 court is located, or where claimant is or was a tenant or lessee of real
7 property owned by the defendant and the claim relates to such tenancy or
8 lease, and such real property is situated within the municipality where
9 the court is located. However, where a judge of the county court, pursu-
10 ant to subdivision (g) of section three hundred twenty-five of the civil
11 practice law and rules, transfers a small claim from the town or village
12 court having jurisdiction over the matter to another town or village
13 court within the same county, the court to which it is transferred shall
14 have jurisdiction to determine the claim.
15 § 4. Subdivision (a) of section 1803 of the uniform justice court act,
16 as amended by chapter 485 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read as
17 follows:
18 (a) Small claims shall be commenced upon the payment by the claimant
19 of a filing fee of [ten] fifteen dollars for claims in the amount of one
20 thousand dollars or less and [fifteen] twenty dollars for claims in the
21 amount of more than one thousand dollars, without the service of a
22 summons and, except by special order of the court, without the service
23 of any pleading other than a statement of his cause of action by the
24 claimant or someone in his behalf to the clerk, who shall reduce the
25 same to a concise, written form and record it in a filing system main-
26 tained especially for such purpose. Such procedure shall provide for the
27 sending of notice of such claim by ordinary first class mail and certi-
28 fied mail with return receipt requested to the party complained against
29 (1) at his residence, if he resides within the county and his residence
30 is known to the claimant, (2) at his office or place of regular employ-
31 ment within the municipality if he does not reside within the county or
32 his residence within the county is not known to the claimant, or (3)
33 where claimant is or was a tenant or lessee of real property owned by
34 the defendant and the claim relates to such tenancy or lease and the
35 notice of claim cannot be sent under paragraph one or two of this subdi-
36 vision, at any place in the county or an adjoining county where claimant
37 may mail or otherwise deliver rent. If, after the expiration of twenty-
38 one days, such ordinary first class mailing has not been returned as
39 undeliverable, the party complained against shall be presumed to have
40 received notice of such claim. Such notice shall include a clear
41 description of the procedure for filing a counterclaim, pursuant to
42 subdivision (c) of this section.
43 Such procedure shall further provide for an early hearing upon and
44 determination of such claim. No filing fee, however, shall be demanded
45 or received on small claims of employees who shall comply with section
46 nineteen hundred twelve of this act which is hereby made applicable,
47 except that necessary mailing costs shall be paid.
48 § 5. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
49 ing the date on which it shall have become a law and shall apply to
50 actions or proceedings filed on or after such date.
