Can I Split a Claim Into Multiple Claims to Have Jurisdiction in Small Claims Court?
Full Question:
Answer:
If the claims are similar, a motion to consolidate or transfer to another court may be made in order to preserve judicial resources and promote efficiency in the court system. In some cases, no more than two claims over $2,500 may be filed in small claims court in one year.
Please see the following CA rules of court:
A motion to consolidate is a motion which seeks to combine two cases into one proceeding. It may be granted if the cases involve common questions of law or fact to be resolved. For example, a petitioner in a paternity action may seek to consolidate the paternity case with a pending adoption case. When the cases involve similar or related questions to be decided, the court may consolidate the cases in order to promote the efficient use of judicial resources. By resolving the issues involved at the same time, the parties involved may also be saved time and expenses of litigation.
Example of a State Statute on Motion to Consolidate (California)
Cal Rules of Court, Rule 3.350 Consolidation of cases
(a) Requirements of motion
(1) A notice of motion to consolidate must:
(A) List all named parties in each case, the names of those who have appeared, and the names of their respective attorneys of record;
(B) Contain the captions of all the cases sought to be consolidated, with the lowest numbered case shown first; and
(C) Be filed in each case sought to be consolidated.
(2) The motion to consolidate:
(A) Is deemed a single motion for the purpose of determining the appropriate filing fee, but memorandums, declarations, and other supporting papers must be filed only in the lowest numbered case;
(B) Must be served on all attorneys of record and all nonrepresented parties in all of the cases sought to be consolidated; and
(C) Must have a proof of service filed as part of the motion.
(b) Lead case Unless otherwise provided in the order granting the motion to consolidate, the lowest numbered case in the consolidated case is the lead case.
(c) Order An order granting or denying all or part of a motion to consolidate must be filed in each case sought to be consolidated. If the motion is granted for all purposes including trial, any subsequent document must be filed only in the lead case.
(d) Caption and case number All documents filed in the consolidated case must include the caption and case number of the lead case, followed by the case numbers of all of the other consolidated cases
RULE 3.300. RELATED CASES
(a) Definition of "related case"
A pending civil case is related to another pending civil
case, or to a civil case that was dismissed with or without
prejudice, or to a civil case that was disposed of by
judgment, if the cases:
(1) Involve the same parties and are based on the same
or similar claims;
(2) Arise from the same or substantially identical
transactions, incidents, or events requiring the
determination of the same or substantially identical
questions of law or fact;
(3) Involve claims against, title to, possession of,
or damages to the same property; or
(4) Are likely for other reasons to require substantial
duplication of judicial resources if heard by different
judges.
(b) Duty to provide notice
Whenever a party in a civil action knows or learns that the
action or proceeding is related to another action
or proceeding pending, dismissed, or disposed of by judgment in
any state or federal court in California, the party must
serve and file a Notice of Related Case.
(c) Contents of the notice
The Notice of Related Case must:
(1) List all civil cases that are related by court, case
name, case number, and filing date;
(2) Identify the case that has the earliest filing date and
the court and department in which that case is pending; and
(3) Describe the manner in which the cases are related.
(d) Service and filing of notice
The Notice of Related Case must be filed in all pending
cases listed in the notice and must be served on all parties
in those cases.
(e) Time for service
The Notice of Related Case must be served and filed as soon
as possible, but no later than 15 days after the facts
concerning the existence of related cases become known.
(f) Continuing duty to provide notice
The duty under (b)-(e) is a continuing duty that applies
when a party files a case with knowledge of a related action
or proceeding, and that applies thereafter whenever a party
learns of a related action or proceeding.
(g) Response
Within 5 days after service on a party of a Notice
of Related Case, the party may serve and file a response
supporting or opposing the notice. The response must state
why one or more of the cases listed in the notice are not
related or why other good cause exists for the court not to
transfer the cases to or from a particular court
or department. The response must be filed in all pending cases
listed in the notice and must be served on all parties in
those cases.
(h) Judicial action
(1) Related cases pending in one superior court
If all the related cases have been filed in one superior
court, the court, on notice to all parties, may order that
the cases, including probate and family law cases, be
related and may assign them to a single judge or department.
In a superior court where there is a master calendar, the
presiding judge may order the cases related. In a court in
which cases are assigned to a single judge or department,
cases may be ordered related as follows:
(A) Where all the cases listed in the notice are unlimited
civil cases, or where all the cases listed in the notice are
limited civil cases, the judge who has the earliest filed
case must determine whether the cases must be ordered
related and assigned to his or her department;
(B) Where the cases listed in the notice include both
unlimited and limited civil cases, the judge who has the
earliest filed unlimited civil case must determine whether
the cases should be ordered related and assigned to his
or her department;
(C) Where the cases listed in the notice contain a probate
or family law case, the presiding judge or a judge
designated by the presiding judge must determine whether the
cases should be ordered related and, if so, to which judge
or department they should be assigned;
(D) In the event that any of the cases listed in the notice
are not ordered related under (A), (B), or (C), any party in
any of the cases listed in the notice may file a motion to
have the cases related. The motion must be filed with the
presiding judge or the judge designated by the presiding
judge; and
(E) If the procedures for relating pending cases under this
rule do not apply, the procedures under Code of Civil
Procedure section 1048 and rule 3.350 must be followed to
consolidate cases pending in the same superior court.
(2) Related cases pending in different superior courts
(A) If the related cases are pending in more than one
superior court on notice to all parties, the judge to whom
the earliest filed case is assigned may confer informally
with the parties and with the judges to whom each related
case is assigned, to determine the feasibility and
desirability of joint discovery orders and other informal
or formal means of coordinating proceedings in the cases.
(B) If it is determined that related cases pending in
different superior courts should be formally coordinated,
the procedures in Code of Civil Procedure section 403 and
rule 3.500 must be followed for noncomplex cases, and the
procedures in Code of Civil Procedure section 404 et seq.
and rules 3.501 et seq. must be followed for complex cases.
(3) Complex cases
The provisions in (1) of this subdivision do not apply to
cases that have been designated as complex by the parties
or determined to be complex by the court.
(i) Ruling on related cases
The court, department, or judge issuing an order relating
cases under this rule must either:
(1) File a notice of the order in all pending cases and
serve a copy of the notice on all parties listed in the
Notice of Related Case; or
(2) Direct counsel for a party to file the notice in all
pending cases and serve a copy on all parties.
(j) Cases not ordered related
If for any reason a case is not ordered related under this
rule, that case will remain assigned to the court, judge,
or department where it was pending at the time of the filing
and service of the Notice of Related Case.
(k) Exception
A party is not required to serve and file Notice of Related
Case under this rule if another party has already filed a
notice and served all parties under this rule on the same
case.
Please see the following CA statutes:
116.222. If the action is to enforce the payment of a debt, the
statement of calculation of liability shall separately state the
original debt, each payment credited to the debt, each fee and charge
added to the debt, each payment credited against those fees and
charges, all other debits or charges to the account, and an
explanation of the nature of those fees, charges, debits, and all
other credits to the debt, by source and amount.
116.231. (a) Except as provided in subdivision (d), no person may
file more than two small claims actions in which the amount demanded
exceeds two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500), anywhere in the
state in any calendar year.
(b) Except as provided in subdivision (d), if the amount demanded
in any small claims action exceeds two thousand five hundred dollars
($2,500), the party making the demand shall file a declaration under
penalty of perjury attesting to the fact that not more than two small
claims actions in which the amount of the demand exceeded two
thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) have been filed by that party
in this state within the calendar year.
(c) The Legislature finds and declares that the pilot project
conducted under the authority of Chapter 1196 of the Statutes of 1991
demonstrated the efficacy of the removal of the limitation on the
number of actions public entities may file in the small claims courts
on claims exceeding two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500).
(d) The limitation on the number of filings exceeding two thousand
five hundred dollars ($2,500) does not apply to filings where the
claim does not exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000) that are filed
by a city, county, city and county, school district, county office of
education, community college district, local district, or any other
local public entity. If any small claims action is filed by a city,
county, city and county, school district, county office of education,
community college district, local district, or any other local
public entity pursuant to this section, and the defendant informs the
court either in advance of the hearing by written notice or at the
time of the hearing, that he or she is represented in the action by
legal counsel, the action shall be transferred out of the small
claims division. A city, county, city and county, school district,
county office of education, community college district, local
district, or any other local public entity may not file a claim
within the small claims division if the amount of the demand exceeds
five thousand dollars ($5,000).
116.390. (a) If a defendant has a claim against a plaintiff that
exceeds the jurisdictional limits stated in Sections 116.220,
116.221, and 116.231, and the claim relates to the contract,
transaction, matter, or event which is the subject of the plaintiff's
claim, the defendant may commence an action against the plaintiff in
a court of competent jurisdiction and request the small claims court
to transfer the small claims action to that court.
(b) The defendant may make the request by filing with the small
claims court in which the plaintiff commenced the action, at or
before the time set for the hearing of that action, a declaration
stating the facts concerning the defendant's action against the
plaintiff with a true copy of the complaint so filed by the defendant
against the plaintiff. The defendant shall cause a copy of the
declaration and complaint to be personally delivered to the plaintiff
at or before the time set for the hearing of the small claims
action.
(c) In ruling on a motion to transfer, the small claims court may
do any of the following: (1) render judgment on the small claims case
prior to the transfer; (2) not render judgment and transfer the
small claims case; (3) refuse to transfer the small claims case on
the grounds that the ends of justice would not be served. If the
small claims action is transferred prior to judgment, both actions
shall be tried together in the transferee court.
(d) When the small claims court orders the action transferred, it
shall transmit all files and papers to the transferee court.
(e) The plaintiff in the small claims action shall not be required
to pay to the clerk of the transferee court any transmittal,
appearance, or filing fee unless the plaintiff appears in the
transferee court, in which event the plaintiff shall be required to
pay the filing fee and any other fee required of a defendant in the
transferee court. However, if the transferee court rules against the
plaintiff in the action filed in that court, the court may award to
the defendant in that action the costs incurred as a consequence of
the transfer, including attorney's fees and filing fees.