[RPPTL LandTen] Jurisdiction question

Fri Mar 13 10:46:37 PDT 2015

That’s a great case, Dennis. It confirms that there is no law requiring an action be filed in “small claims” court—nothing in Chapter 34 at all.  It’s always been a county court just with application of different rules.   If the plaintiff alleges in its complaint that it is an a “action at law not exceeding $15,000” then it should proceed in county court under the Rules of Civil Procedure.  As Lainie had commented, if the pleader states the amount specifically—e.g., $2,500,” then that is when the clerk of court fast tracks into small claims which triggers that initial hearing/mediation within a short period of time.   The question, though, is whether the language in Rule 7.010(b) makes it mandatory or discretionary to use the small claims rules of procedure.         

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From: landten-bounces at lists.flabarrpptl.org [mailto:landten-bounces at lists.flabarrpptl.org] On Behalf Of Dennis Chen
Sent: Friday, March 13, 2015 12:56 PM
To: RPPTL Landlord Tenant Committee
Subject: Re: [RPPTL LandTen] Jurisdiction question

Take a look at this case that addresses small claims versus county court.  Small claims just refers to procedure within the county court.

Some attorneys use this tactic, filing in county rather than small claims, to avoid the mandatory pretrial and mediation.  It also allows them to immediately send out discovery.  It is a strategic move to reduce time out of the office and increase billable hours claim.

Dennis

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On Fri, Mar 13, 2015 at 10:44 AM, Harry Heist <harry at evict.com> wrote:

Is it required that a simple security deposit dispute case for $1200 be filed in Small Claims Court or can an attorney file in County Court with a regular 20 day summons?

No injunctive relief is being asked for but it is a ridiculous complaint for one count called “Failure to Return” and a count for “Unjust Enrichment”.

What a waste of time.

If it is not proper, would a Motion to Dismiss be proper? The attorney who filed is not returning calls or emails so we can’t even try to settle this dumb case.

Harry

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