OR, simply wait-and-see (MAY be able to complete motion in 60 days … rather than 75 days) JURISDICTION & VENUE Subject Matter Jurisdiction In CA, used to be jurisdictional distinction w/ physically different courts (floors/buildings)… over (“AIC”) Superior Court amount-in-controversy under Municipal Court AIC move from one court to other Transfer BUT, now, one single court w/ different classifications… … over $25K Unlimited under/equal to $25K Limited Limit on in unwaivable court has NO power to award limited case $25+K (NO reason for D to settle for more than/close to $25K)… BUT, are cheaper to litigate than limited trial unlimited cases … limited discovery, limited pleadings, lower filing fees, affidavits instead of live testimony… thus, even if seeking $25+K, MAY be more limited case … economically sound (i.e. wouldn’t spend $10K extra for opportunity to win $30K instead of $25K) changing Reclassification classification Before P must be afforded noticed hearing, as per reclassification, Walker… even though applied to from to Walker transfer Superior Court … the standard remains the same ONLY w/ different Municipal Court, language from… Reclassification matter must result in a verdict below unlimited-to-limited … “necessarily” $25K (Stern) ONLY need the of verdict above limited-to-unlimited … “possibility” $25K (Ytuarte) an easier standard than Ytuarte Stern… BUT, there must be some change in circumstance (i.e. new … witness, new document, new extent of injury) to justify
… OR, simply wait-and-see (MAY be able to complete motion in 60 days rather than 75 days) JURISDICTION & VENUE Subject Matter Jurisdiction In CA, used to be jurisdictional distinction w/ physically different courts (floors/buildings)… Superior Court over amount-in-controversy (“AIC”) Municipal Court under AIC Transfer move from one court to other … BUT, now, one single court w/ different classifications… Unlimited over $25K Limited under/equal to $25K Limit on limited case in unwaivable court has NO power to award $25+K (NO reason for D to settle for more than/close to $25K)… … BUT, limited are cheaper to litigate than unlimited cases limited discovery, limited pleadings, lower filing fees, affidavits instead of live testimony… … thus, even if seeking $25+K, limited case MAY be more economically sound (i.e. wouldn’t spend $10K extra for opportunity to win $30K instead of $25K) Reclassification changing classification Before reclassification, P must be afforded noticed hearing, as per Walker… … even though Walker applied to transfer from Superior Court to Municipal Court, the standard remains the same ONLY w/ different language Reclassification from… … unlimited-to-limited matter must “necessarily” result in a verdict below $25K (Stern) … limited-to-unlimited ONLY need the “possibility” of verdict above $25K (Ytuarte) Ytuarte an easier standard than Stern… … BUT, there must be some change in circumstance (i.e. new witness, new document, new extent of injury) to justify trial
Civ-Pro-II_Bakhshian-Fall-2009.docx