NY State Senate Bill 2021-S4108

Senate Bill S4108

2021-2022 Legislative Session

Increases the jurisdictional limit from $3,000 to $5,000 for justice courts and increases filing fees

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Judiciary Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 05, 2022	referred to judiciary
Feb 02, 2021	referred to judiciary

2021-S4108 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Judiciary
Law Section:: Uniform Justice Court Act
Laws Affected:: Amd §§201, 202, 1801 & 1803, UJCA
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2019-2020: S5951
2023-2024: S2849

2021-S4108 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Increases the jurisdictional limit from $3,000 to $5,000 for justice courts and increases filing fees.

2021-S4108 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S4108

SPONSOR: BRESLIN
 
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 IDEA OF BILL:

Increases the jurisdictional limit from $3,000 to $5,000 for 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 $5,000.

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 $3,000 to $5,000.

Section three of the bill amends section 1801 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 $15
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.

 
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORIGINAL AND AMENDED VERSION:

The amendments increase the filing fees for small claims cases to
address additional caseload that would result from expanding the number
of cases that could be brought to small claims court.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Jurisdictional limits in the Uniform Justice Court Act were last
increased over thirty years ago from $2,000 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 that claimants are forced to
choose between artificially lowering their claims in order to fall with-
in 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 allow-
ing citizens to litigate small matters without the cost and expense of
Supreme Court.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

S.5951/A.3799A of 2019-20: Passed Senate, Died in Assembly, Returned to
Senate, Referred to Judiciary

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.

2021-S4108 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4108
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 2, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. BRESLIN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed 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:
 
   Section 1. Subdivision a of section 201 of the uniform  justice  court
 act,  as  amended by chapter 685 of the laws of 1977, is amended to read
 as follows:
   a. The court shall have jurisdiction as set forth in this article  and
 as  elsewhere  provided  by  law[,  subject, in the case of a city court
 governed by this act, to the limitations stated in § 2300 (b) (2) (i) of
 this act]. The phrase "[$3000] $5000", whenever it appears herein, shall
 be taken to mean "[$3000]  $5000  exclusive  of  interest  and  costs"[,
 except  that,  in  the  case  of a city court governed by this act whose
 monetary jurisdiction is, pursuant to § 2300 (b) (2) (i)  of  this  act,
 below  $3000, it shall be taken to mean such lesser sum as is applicable
 in the particular court, exclusive of interest and costs].
   § 2. Section 202 of the uniform justice court act, as amended by chap-
 ter 685 of the laws of 1977, is amended to read as follows:
 § 202. Money actions and actions to recover chattels.
   Notwithstanding any other provision  of  law,  the  court  shall  have
 jurisdiction  of  actions  and  proceedings for the recovery of money or
 chattels where the amount sought to be recovered or  the  value  of  the
 property does not exceed [$3000] $5000.
   §  3.  Section  1801  of  the uniform justice court act, as amended by
 chapter 76 of the laws of 1994, is amended to read as follows:
 § 1801. Small claims defined.
   The term "small claim" or "small claims" as used  in  this  act  shall
 mean  and  include  any  cause of action for money only not in excess of
 [three] FIVE thousand dollars exclusive of interest and costs,  provided
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD05121-02-1

 S. 4108                             2
 
 that  the defendant either resides, or has an office for the transaction
 of business or a regular employment, within the municipality  where  the
 court  is  located. However, where a judge of the county court, pursuant
 to  subdivision  (g)  of  section three hundred twenty-five of the civil
 practice law and rules, transfers a small claim from the town or village
 court having jurisdiction over the matter to  another  town  or  village
 court within the same county, the court to which it is transferred shall
 have jurisdiction to determine the claim.
   § 4. Subdivision (a) of section 1803 of the uniform justice court act,
 as  amended  by  chapter  309 of the laws of 1996, is amended to read as
 follows:
   (a) Small claims shall be commenced upon the payment by  the  claimant
 of a filing fee of [ten] FIFTEEN dollars for claims in the amount of one
 thousand  dollars or less and [fifteen] TWENTY dollars for claims in the
 amount of more than one thousand  dollars,  without  the  service  of  a
 summons  and,  except by special order of the court, without the service
 of any pleading other than a statement of his cause  of  action  by  the
 claimant  or  someone  in  his behalf to the clerk, who shall reduce the
 same to a concise, written form and record it in a filing  system  main-
 tained especially for such purpose. Such procedure shall provide for the
 sending  of notice of such claim by ordinary first class mail and certi-
 fied mail with return receipt requested to the party complained  against
 at  his  residence, if he resides within the county and his residence is
 known to the claimant, or at his office or place of  regular  employment
 within  the  municipality if he does not reside within the county or his
 residence within the county is not known to the claimant. If, after  the
 expiration of twenty-one days, such ordinary first class mailing has not
 been  returned  as  undeliverable, the party complained against shall be
 presumed to have received notice of  such  claim.    Such  notice  shall
 include  a clear description of the procedure for filing a counterclaim,
 pursuant to subdivision (c) of this section.
   § 5. This act shall take effect on the first of January next  succeed-
 ing  the  date  on  which  it shall have become a law and shall apply to
 actions or proceedings filed on or after such date.

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