Bill Text: NY S09377 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Increases the monetary jurisdictional limits of the New York city civil court from $25,000 to $50,000 in the corresponding statutes following the constitutional amendment in November 2021.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2022-08-17 - SIGNED CHAP.552 [S09377 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-S09377-Introduced.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          9377

                    IN SENATE

                                      May 23, 2022
                                       ___________

        Introduced by Sen. SEPULVEDA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Judiciary

        AN  ACT to amend the New York city civil court act, in relation to mone-
          tary jurisdictional limits

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.  Section  201  of  the  New  York city civil court act, as
     2  amended by chapter 11 of the  laws  of  1984,  is  amended  to  read  as
     3  follows:
     4    §  201. Jurisdiction; in general. The court shall have jurisdiction as
     5  set forth in this article and as elsewhere provided by law.  The  phrase
     6  ["$25,000"]  "$50,000",  whenever  it  appears herein, shall be taken to
     7  mean ["$25,000] "$50,000 exclusive of interest and costs".
     8    § 2. Section 202 of the New York city civil court act, as  amended  by
     9  chapter 11 of the laws of 1984, is amended to read as follows:
    10    §  202.  Money actions and actions involving chattels. The court shall
    11  have jurisdiction of actions and proceedings for the recovery of  money,
    12  actions  and  proceedings  for  the recovery of chattels and actions and
    13  proceedings for the foreclosure of liens on personal property where  the
    14  amount  sought  to  be  recovered  or the value of the property does not
    15  exceed [$25,000] $50,000.
    16    § 3. Section 203 of the New York city civil court act, as  amended  by
    17  chapter 11 of the laws of 1984, is amended to read as follows:
    18    § 203. Actions involving real property. The court shall have jurisdic-
    19  tion  of  the following actions provided that the real property involved
    20  or part of it is situate within the county in the city of  New  York  in
    21  which the action is brought:
    22    (a)  An  action  for the partition of real property where the assessed
    23  valuation of the property at the time the action is commenced  does  not
    24  exceed [$25,000] $50,000.
    25    (b)  An  action  for  the foreclosure, redemption or satisfaction of a
    26  mortgage on real property where the amount of the mortgage lien  at  the
    27  time the action is commenced does not exceed [$25,000] $50,000.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD15917-01-2

        S. 9377                             2

     1    (c)  An action for the foreclosure of a lien arising out of a contract
     2  for the sale of real property where the amount of the lien sought to  be
     3  foreclosed  does  not,  at  the  time  the  action  is commenced, exceed
     4  [$25,000] $50,000.
     5    (d)  An action for the specific performance of a contract for the sale
     6  of real property where the contract  price  of  the  property  does  not
     7  exceed [$25,000] $50,000.
     8    (e)  An  action for the establishment, enforcement or foreclosure of a
     9  mechanic's lien on real property where the lien asserted  does  not,  at
    10  the time the action is commenced, exceed [$25,000] $50,000.
    11    (f)  An  action to reform or rescind a deed to real property where the
    12  assessed valuation of the property does not exceed [$25,000] $50,000  at
    13  the time the action is commenced.
    14    (g)  An  action  to  reform or rescind a contract for the sale of real
    15  property where the agreed  price  of  the  property  as  stated  in  the
    16  contract does not exceed [$25,000] $50,000; or, if the controversy shall
    17  be  with  regard to the price of the property, where the agreed price as
    18  claimed by plaintiff does not exceed [$25,000] $50,000.
    19    (h) An action to reform or rescind a mortgage on real  property  where
    20  the  unpaid  balance of the debt secured by the mortgage does not exceed
    21  [$25,000] $50,000 at the time the action is commenced.
    22    (i) An action to compel the determination of a claim to real  property
    23  under  article  fifteen of the real property actions and proceedings law
    24  where the assessed valuation of the property does not  exceed  [$25,000]
    25  $50,000 at the time the action is commenced.
    26    (j)  An  action  of ejectment where the assessed valuation of the real
    27  property does not exceed [$25,000] $50,000 at the  time  the  action  is
    28  commenced.
    29    (k)  An  action  brought  to  impose and collect a civil penalty for a
    30  violation of state or local laws for the establishment  and  maintenance
    31  of housing standards, including, but not limited to, the multiple dwell-
    32  ing  law and the housing maintenance code, building code and health code
    33  of the administrative code of the city of New York.
    34    (l) An action to recover costs, expenses and disbursements incurred by
    35  the city of New York in the elimination or correction of a  nuisance  or
    36  other violation of any law described in subdivision (k) of this section,
    37  or  in the removal or demolition of any building pursuant to such law or
    38  laws.
    39    (m) An action or proceeding to establish, enforce or foreclose a  lien
    40  upon  real property and the rents therefrom, for civil penalties, or for
    41  costs, expenses and disbursements incurred by the city of  New  York  in
    42  the elimination of a nuisance or other violation of any law described in
    43  subdivision  (k) of this section, or in the removal or demolition of any
    44  building pursuant to such law or laws.
    45    (n) Actions and proceedings for  the  removal  of  housing  violations
    46  recorded  pursuant  to  any  law  described  in  subdivision (k) of this
    47  section, or for the imposition of such violation or for the stay of  any
    48  penalty thereunder.
    49    (o)  An  action  or  proceeding  for  the  issuance  of an injunction,
    50  restraining orders or other orders for the enforcement of housing stand-
    51  ards under any law described in subdivision (k) of this section.
    52    (p) Special proceedings to vest title in the city of New York to aban-
    53  doned multiple dwellings.
    54    § 4. Section 205 of the New York city civil court act, as  amended  by
    55  chapter 11 of the laws of 1984, is amended to read as follows:

        S. 9377                             3

     1    § 205. Interpleader. The court shall have jurisdiction of an action of
     2  interpleader  and  defensive interpleader as defined and governed by the
     3  CPLR, provided that the amount in controversy or the value of the  prop-
     4  erty involved does not exceed [$25,000] $50,000.
     5    §  5.  Section 208 of the New York city civil court act, as amended by
     6  chapter 11 of the laws of 1984, is amended to read as follows:
     7    § 208. Counterclaims. The court shall have  jurisdiction  of  counter-
     8  claims as follows:
     9    (a)  Of  any  counterclaim the subject matter of which would be within
    10  the jurisdiction of the court if sued upon separately.
    11    (b) Of any counterclaim for money only, without regard to amount.
    12    (c) Of any counterclaim for:
    13    1. the rescission or reformation of the  transaction  upon  which  the
    14  plaintiff's  cause of action is founded, if the amount in controversy on
    15  such counterclaim does not exceed [$25,000] $50,000; or
    16    2. an accounting between partners after the dissolution of  the  part-
    17  nership,  where the book value of the partnership assets does not exceed
    18  [$25,000] $50,000 and the plaintiff's cause of action arises out of  the
    19  partnership.
    20    (d)  In an action commenced in the housing part by the city department
    21  charged with enforcing the multiple dwelling  law,  housing  maintenance
    22  code,  or  other  state  or  local laws applicable to the enforcement of
    23  proper housing standards, no counterclaim may  be  interposed  or  main-
    24  tained  except  if  it  relates  to an action or proceeding specified in
    25  subdivision (a) of § 110 of this act.
    26    § 6. Section 211 of the New York city civil court act, as  amended  by
    27  chapter 11 of the laws of 1984, is amended to read as follows:
    28    §  211.  Joinder of causes of action in complaint; effect on jurisdic-
    29  tion. Where several causes of action are asserted in the  complaint  and
    30  each  of them would be within the jurisdiction of the court if sued upon
    31  separately, the court shall have jurisdiction of  the  action.  In  such
    32  case  judgment  may  be  rendered  by  the  court in excess of [$25,000]
    33  $50,000 if such excess result solely because of  such  joinder.  Nothing
    34  herein shall be construed to prevent the court from granting judgment in
    35  an unlimited amount on a counterclaim.
    36    §  7.   Section 212-a of the New York city civil court act, as amended
    37  by chapter 65 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows:
    38    § 212-a. Declaratory judgments involving obligations of  insurers  and
    39  de novo review under part 137 of the rules of the chief administrator of
    40  the  courts  (22  NYCRR Part 137). The court shall have the jurisdiction
    41  defined in section 3001 of the CPLR to make a declaratory judgment  with
    42  respect to:
    43    (a)  any  controversy involving the obligation of an insurer to indem-
    44  nify or defend a defendant in an action in which the amount sought to be
    45  recovered does not exceed [$25,000] $50,000; and
    46    (b) actions commenced by a party aggrieved  by  an  arbitration  award
    47  rendered pursuant to part 137 of the rules of the chief administrator in
    48  which the amount in dispute does not exceed [$25,000] $50,000.
    49    §  8.  Section 213 of the New York city civil court act, as amended by
    50  chapter 11 of the laws of 1984, is amended to read as follows:
    51    § 213. Jurisdiction for rescission or reformation  of  certain  trans-
    52  actions.  The court shall have jurisdiction of actions for rescission or
    53  reformation of a transaction if  the  amount  in  controversy  does  not
    54  exceed [$25,000] $50,000.
    55    §  9.  This  act  shall take effect immediately and shall be deemed to
    56  have been in full force and effect on and after January 1, 2022.
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