§2.04 Joinder of Plaintiffs || Small Claims Court: Procedures and Practices

Lesson 2.
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§2.04 Joinder of Plaintiffs

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When plaintiffs join claims under CCP §378, which provides for permissive joinder, the case is within the jurisdiction of small claims court if each plaintiff’s separate claim does not exceed the court’s jurisdictional limit, even if the total amount claimed by all the plaintiffs exceeds the jurisdictional limit. [See Heavilin v Westchester Fire Ins. Co. (1936) 12 CA2d 695, 699; Colla v Carmichael U-Drive Autos, Inc. (1930) 111 CA Supp 784, 787–788, 791.]

If two or more plaintiffs have a joint interest in the amount recovered, however, the total amount claimed by all joint plaintiffs must not exceed the jurisdictional limit. [See Frost v Mighetto (1937) 22 CA2d 612, 614.]

To learn more about jurisdictional limits in small claims court, see §§3.01 et seq.

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