How Would
YOU Rule?  

Cecil and three passengers were injured when his car was struck in an intersection by a truck driven by Elsie. Cecil and his passengers sought damages of $2500 each and joined their actions in one claim, which was filed in small claims court. Elsie moves to dismiss the action because the four claims together exceed the jurisdictional limit of $7500 for claims by natural persons. You should:

ANSWER

The answer is b: deny the motion and schedule the claims for hearing.

Cecil and his passengers may permissively join their separate claims because they arose from the same occurrence and share common issues of law and fact. Although the four claims total $10,000, no individual claim exceeds the $7500 limit for claims by natural persons. The joint action amounts to an election to consolidate several causes of action for trial instead of bringing separate actions based on common grounds and then consolidating them later.