Bill Text: NY A00297 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Provides for small claims jurisdiction where claimant is a tenant or lessee of real property owned by the defendant and such real property is situated within the county, within a district of the court in the county, within the municipality in which the court is located or within the city of New York, as the case may be.
Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 13-1)
Status: (Passed) 2021-10-22 - signed chap.485 [A00297 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-A00297-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 297 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled) January 6, 2021 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. GOTTFRIED, DINOWITZ, COLTON, CAHILL, WEPRIN, OTIS -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. BARNWELL, CARROLL, GLICK, LALOR, PERRY -- read once and referred to the Committee on Judiciary AN ACT to amend the uniform city court act, the uniform district court act, the uniform justice court act and the New York city civil court act, in relation to obtaining jurisdiction over certain defendants The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 1801 of the uniform city court act, as amended by 2 chapter 65 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows: 3 § 1801. Small claims defined. 4 The term "small claim" or "small claims" as used in this act shall 5 mean and include any cause of action for money only not in excess of 6 five thousand dollars exclusive of interest and costs, or any action 7 commenced by a party aggrieved by an arbitration award rendered pursuant 8 to part 137 of the rules of the chief administrator of the courts (22 9 NYCRR Part 137) in which the amount in dispute does not exceed $5,000, 10 provided that the defendant either resides, or has an office for the 11 transaction of business or a regular employment[,] within the county, or 12 where the claimant is or was a tenant or lessee of real property owned 13 by the defendant and the claim relates to such tenancy or lease, and 14 such real property is situated within the county. 15 § 2. Subdivision (a) of section 1803 of the uniform city court act, as 16 amended by chapter 309 of the laws of 1996, the opening paragraph as 17 amended by section 1 of part B of chapter 686 of the laws of 2003, is 18 amended to read as follows: 19 (a) Small claims shall be commenced upon the payment by the claimant 20 of a filing fee of fifteen dollars for claims in the amount of one thou- 21 sand dollars or less and twenty dollars for claims in the amount of more 22 than one thousand dollars, without the service of a summons and, except 23 by special order of the court, without the service of any pleading other 24 than a statement of his cause of action by the claimant or someone in 25 his behalf to the clerk, who shall reduce the same to a concise, written EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD00179-01-1A. 297 2 1 form and record it in a docket kept especially for such purpose. Such 2 procedure shall provide for the sending of notice of such claim by ordi- 3 nary first class mail and certified mail with return receipt requested 4 to the party complained against (1) at his residence, if he resides 5 within the county, and his residence is known to the claimant, or (2) at 6 his office or place of regular employment within the county if he does 7 not reside therein or his residence within the county is not known to 8 the claimant, or (3) where the claimant is or was a tenant or lessee of 9 real property owned by the defendant and the claim relates to such 10 tenancy or lease and the notice of claim cannot be sent under paragraph 11 one or two of this subdivision, at any place in the county or an adjoin- 12 ing county where claimant may mail or otherwise deliver rent. If, after 13 the expiration of twenty-one days, such ordinary first class mailing has 14 not been returned as undeliverable, the party complained against shall 15 be presumed to have received notice of such claim. Such notice shall 16 include a clear description of the procedure for filing a counterclaim, 17 pursuant to subdivision (c) of this section. 18 Such procedure shall further provide for an early hearing upon and 19 determination of such claim. No filing fee, however, shall be demanded 20 or received on small claims of employees who shall comply with § 1912 of 21 this act which is hereby made applicable, except that necessary mailing 22 costs shall be paid. 23 § 3. Section 1801 of the uniform district court act, as amended by 24 chapter 65 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows: 25 § 1801. Small claims defined. 26 The term "small claim" or "small claims" as used in this act shall 27 mean and include any cause of action for money only not in excess of 28 five thousand dollars exclusive of interest and costs, or any action 29 commenced by a party aggrieved by an arbitration award rendered pursuant 30 to part one hundred thirty-seven of the rules of the chief administrator 31 of the courts (22 NYCRR Part 137) in which the amount in dispute does 32 not exceed five thousand dollars, provided that the defendant either 33 resides, or has an office for the transaction of business or a regular 34 employment[,] within a district of the court in the county, or where the 35 claimant is or was a tenant or lessee of real property owned by the 36 defendant and the claim relates to such tenancy or lease, and such real 37 property is situated within a district of the court in the county. 38 § 4. Subdivision (a) of section 1803 of the uniform district court 39 act, as amended by section 31 of part J of chapter 62 of the laws of 40 2003, is amended to read as follows: 41 (a) Small claims shall be commenced upon the payment by the claimant 42 of a filing fee of fifteen dollars for claims in the amount of one thou- 43 sand dollars or less and twenty dollars for claims in the amount of more 44 than one thousand dollars, without the service of a summons and, except 45 by special order of the court, without the service of any pleading other 46 than a statement of his cause of action by the claimant or someone in 47 his behalf to the clerk, who shall reduce the same to a concise, written 48 form and record it in a docket kept especially for such purpose. Such 49 procedure shall provide for the sending of notice of such claim by ordi- 50 nary first class mail and certified mail with return receipt requested 51 to the party complained against (1) at his residence, if he resides 52 within a district of the court in the county, and his residence is known 53 to the claimant, or (2) at his office or place of regular employment 54 within such a district if he does not reside therein or his residence 55 within such a district is not known to the claimant, or (3) where claim- 56 ant is or was a tenant or lessee of real property owned by the defendantA. 297 3 1 and the claim relates to such tenancy or lease and the notice of claim 2 cannot be sent under paragraph one or two of this subdivision, at any 3 place in the state where claimant may mail or otherwise deliver rent. 4 If, after the expiration of twenty-one days, such ordinary first class 5 mailing has not been returned as undeliverable, the party complained 6 against shall be presumed to have received notice of such claim. Such 7 notice shall include a clear description of the procedure for filing a 8 counterclaim, pursuant to subdivision (c) of this section. 9 Such procedure shall further provide for an early hearing upon and 10 determination of such claim. No filing fee, however, shall be demanded 11 or received on small claims of employees who shall comply with § 1912 12 (a) of this act which is hereby made applicable, except that necessary 13 mailing costs shall be paid. 14 § 5. Section 1801 of the uniform justice court act, as amended by 15 chapter 76 of the laws of 1994, is amended to read as follows: 16 § 1801. Small claims defined. 17 The term "small claim" or "small claims" as used in this act shall 18 mean and include any cause of action for money only not in excess of 19 three thousand dollars exclusive of interest and costs, provided that 20 the defendant either resides, or has an office for the transaction of 21 business or a regular employment[,] within the municipality where the 22 court is located, or where claimant is or was a tenant or lessee of real 23 property owned by the defendant and the claim relates to such tenancy or 24 lease, and such real property is situated within the municipality where 25 the court is located. However, where a judge of the county court, pursu- 26 ant to subdivision (g) of section three hundred twenty-five of the civil 27 practice law and rules, transfers a small claim from the town or village 28 court having jurisdiction over the matter to another town or village 29 court within the same county, the court to which it is transferred shall 30 have jurisdiction to determine the claim. 31 § 6. Subdivision (a) of section 1803 of the uniform justice court act, 32 as amended by chapter 309 of the laws of 1996, is amended to read as 33 follows: 34 (a) Small claims shall be commenced upon the payment by the claimant 35 of a filing fee of ten dollars for claims in the amount of one thousand 36 dollars or less and fifteen dollars for claims in the amount of more 37 than one thousand dollars, without the service of a summons and, except 38 by special order of the court, without the service of any pleading other 39 than a statement of his cause of action by the claimant or someone in 40 his behalf to the clerk, who shall reduce the same to a concise, written 41 form and record it in a filing system maintained especially for such 42 purpose. Such procedure shall provide for the sending of notice of such 43 claim by ordinary first class mail and certified mail with return 44 receipt requested to the party complained against (1) at his residence, 45 if he resides within the county and his residence is known to the claim- 46 ant, [or] (2) at his office or place of regular employment within the 47 municipality if he does not reside within the county or his residence 48 within the county is not known to the claimant, or (3) where claimant is 49 or was a tenant or lessee of real property owned by the defendant and 50 the claim relates to such tenancy or lease and the notice of claim 51 cannot be sent under paragraph one or two of this subdivision, at any 52 place in the county or an adjoining county where claimant may mail or 53 otherwise deliver rent. If, after the expiration of twenty-one days, 54 such ordinary first class mailing has not been returned as undelivera- 55 ble, the party complained against shall be presumed to have received 56 notice of such claim. Such notice shall include a clear description ofA. 297 4 1 the procedure for filing a counterclaim, pursuant to subdivision (c) of 2 this section. 3 Such procedure shall further provide for an early hearing upon and 4 determination of such claim. No filing fee, however, shall be demanded 5 or received on small claims of employees who shall comply with section 6 nineteen hundred twelve of this act which is hereby made applicable, 7 except that necessary mailing costs shall be paid. 8 § 7. Section 1801 of the New York city civil court act, as amended by 9 chapter 664 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows: 10 § 1801. Small claims defined. The term "small claim" or "small claims" 11 as used in this act shall mean and include any cause of action for money 12 only not in excess of ten thousand dollars exclusive of interest and 13 costs, or any action commenced by a party aggrieved by an arbitration 14 award rendered pursuant to part 137 of the rules of the chief adminis- 15 trator of the courts (22 NYCRR Part 137) in which the amount in dispute 16 does not exceed ten thousand dollars, provided that the defendant either 17 resides, or has an office for the transaction of business or a regular 18 employment[,] within the city of New York, or where claimant is a tenant 19 or lessee of real property owned by the defendant and the claim relates 20 to such tenancy or lease, and such real property is situated within the 21 city of New York. 22 § 8. Subdivision (a) of section 1803 of the New York city civil court 23 act, as amended by section 34 of part J of chapter 62 of the laws of 24 2003, is amended to read as follows: 25 (a) Small claims shall be commenced upon the payment by the claimant 26 of a filing fee of fifteen dollars for claims in the amount of one thou- 27 sand dollars or less and twenty dollars for claims in the amount of more 28 than one thousand dollars, without the service of a summons and, except 29 by special order of the court, without the service of any pleading other 30 than a statement of his cause of action by the claimant or someone in 31 his behalf to the clerk, who shall reduce the same to a concise, written 32 form and record it in a docket kept especially for such purpose. Such 33 procedure shall provide for the sending of notice of such claim by ordi- 34 nary first class mail and certified mail with return receipt requested 35 to the party complained against (1) at his residence, if he resides 36 within the city of New York, and his residence is known to the claimant, 37 [or] (2) at his office or place of regular employment within the city of 38 New York if he does not reside therein or his residence within the city 39 of New York is not known to the claimant, or (3) where claimant is or 40 was a tenant or lessee of real property owned by the defendant and the 41 claim relates to such tenancy or lease and the notice of claim cannot be 42 sent under paragraph one or two of this subdivision, at any place in the 43 state where plaintiff may mail or otherwise deliver rent. If, after the 44 expiration of twenty-one days, such ordinary first class mailing has not 45 been returned as undeliverable, the party complained against shall be 46 presumed to have received notice of such claim. Such notice shall 47 include a clear description of the procedure for filing a counterclaim, 48 pursuant to subdivision (c) of this section. 49 Such procedure shall further provide for an early hearing upon and 50 determination of such claim. No filing fee, however, shall be demanded 51 or received on small claims of employees who shall comply with § 1912 52 (a) of this act which is hereby made applicable, except that necessary 53 mailing costs shall be paid. 54 § 9. This act shall take effect on the first of September next 55 succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law.
