How Would YOU Rule?How Would
YOU Rule?  

Abigail and other plaintiffs filed 170 individual claims in small claims court against the owner and operator of the local airport. The claims alleged that noise from the airport constituted a continuing nuisance, causing damages of $7500 to each plaintiff in the 100 days preceding the filing of the claims. You should:

  1. Order the cases consolidated and hold a joint hearing on all the issues.

  1. Find that the issues are too complex for small claims court and order the actions transferred to superior court.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ANSWER

The answer is a: Order the cases consolidated and hold a joint hearing on all the issues.

Small claims court may have jurisdiction even though the issues can be considered complex. The phrase “minor civil disputes” in the small claims statutes refers only to the financial value of the claims. Significant social or collective economic consequence is not a basis for a jurisdictional challenge. The jurisdictional limitations apply to each individual claim. The fact that in a consolidated action the aggregate amount of claims is greater than the per-claim maximum does not create a jurisdictional defect. [See City and County of San Francisco v Small Claims Court (Eisenberg) (1983) 141 CA3d 470, 474–475, 476–477.]

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