CHAPTER 5.5. Small Claims Court [116.110. - 116.950.]

Chapter 5.5 repealed (as Chapter 5A) and added by Stats. 1990, Ch. 1305, Sec. 3.

§§ 116.110–116.950 · 62 sections

1. ARTICLE 1. General Provisions §§ 116.110–116.140 · 4 sections

   • § 116.110 This chapter shall be known and may be cited as “The Small Claims Act.”
   • § 116.120 The Legislature hereby finds and declares as follows: (a) Individual minor civil disputes are of special importance to the parties and of significant social…
   • § 116.130 In this chapter, unless the context indicates otherwise: (a) “Plaintiff” means the party who has filed a small claims action. The term includes a defendant who…
   • § 116.140 The following do not apply in small claims actions: (a) Subdivision (a) of Section 1013 and subdivision (b) of Section 1005, on the extension of the time for…
2. ARTICLE 2. Small Claims Court §§ 116.210–116.270 · 12 sections

   • § 116.210 In each superior court there shall be a small claims division. The small claims division may be known as the small claims court.
   • § 116.220 (a) The small claims court has jurisdiction in the following actions: (1) Except as provided in subdivisions (c), (e), and (f), for recovery of money, if the…
   • § 116.221 In addition to the jurisdiction conferred by Section 116.220, the small claims court has jurisdiction in an action brought by a natural person, if the amount…
   • § 116.222 If the action is to enforce the payment of a debt, the statement of calculation of liability shall separately state the original debt, each payment credited to…
   • § 116.225 An agreement entered into or renewed on or after January 1, 2003, establishing a forum outside of California for an action arising from an offer or provision…
   • § 116.230 (a) In a small claims case, the clerk of the court shall charge and collect only those fees authorized under this chapter. (b) If the party filing a claim has…
   • § 116.231 (a) Except as provided in subdivision (d), no person may file more than two small claims actions in which the amount demanded exceeds two thousand five hundred…
   • § 116.232 A fee of fifteen dollars ($15) shall be charged and collected from the plaintiff for each defendant to whom the court clerk mails a copy of the claim under…
   • § 116.240 (a) With the consent of the parties who appear at the hearing, the court may order a case to be heard by a temporary judge who is a member of the State Bar,…
   • § 116.250 (a) Sessions of the small claims court may be scheduled at any time and on any day, including Saturdays, but excluding other judicial holidays. (b) Each small…
   • § 116.260 In each county, individual assistance shall be made available to advise small claims litigants and potential litigants without charge as provided in Section…
   • § 116.270 Any small claims division may use law clerks to assist the judge with legal research of small claims cases.
3. ARTICLE 3. Actions §§ 116.310–116.390 · 7 sections

   • § 116.310 (a) No formal pleading, other than the claim described in Section 116.320 or 116.360, is necessary to initiate a small claims action. (b) The pretrial…
   • § 116.320 (a) A plaintiff may commence an action in the small claims court by filing a claim under oath with the clerk of the small claims court in person, by mail, by…
   • § 116.330 (a) When a claim is filed, the clerk shall schedule the case for hearing and shall issue an order directing the parties to appear at the time set for the…
   • § 116.340 (a) Service of the claim and order on the defendant may be made by any one of the following methods: (1) The clerk may cause a copy of the claim and order to…
   • § 116.360 (a) The defendant may file a claim against the plaintiff in the same action in an amount not to exceed the jurisdictional limits stated in Sections 116.220,…
   • § 116.370 (a) Venue and court location requirements in small claims actions shall be the same as in other civil actions. The court may prescribe by local rule the proper…
   • § 116.390 (a) If a defendant has a claim against a plaintiff that exceeds the jurisdictional limits stated in Sections 116.220, 116.221, and 116.231, and the claim…
4. ARTICLE 4. Parties §§ 116.410–116.430 · 3 sections

   • § 116.410 (a) Any person who is at least 18 years of age, or legally emancipated, and mentally competent may be a party to a small claims action. (b) A minor or…
   • § 116.420 (a) No claim shall be filed or maintained in small claims court by the assignee of the claim. (b) This section does not prevent the filing or defense of an…
   • § 116.430 (a) If the plaintiff operates or does business under a fictitious business name and the claim relates to that business, the claim shall be accompanied by the…
5. ARTICLE 5. Hearing §§ 116.510–116.570 · 8 sections

   • § 116.510 The hearing and disposition of the small claims action shall be informal, the object being to dispense justice promptly, fairly, and inexpensively.
   • § 116.520 (a) The parties have the right to offer evidence by witnesses at the hearing or, with the permission of the court, at another time. (b) If the defendant fails…
   • § 116.530 (a) Except as permitted by this section, no attorney may take part in the conduct or defense of a small claims action. (b) Subdivision (a) does not apply if…
   • § 116.531 Nothing in this article shall prevent a representative of an insurer or other expert in the matter before the small claims court from rendering assistance to a…
   • § 116.540 (a) Except as permitted by this section, no individual other than the plaintiff and the defendant may take part in the conduct or defense of a small claims…
   • § 116.541 (a) Notwithstanding Section 116.540 or any other provision of law, the Department of Corrections or the Department of the Youth Authority may appear and…
   • § 116.560 (a) Whenever a claim that is filed against a person operating or doing business under a fictitious business name relates to the defendant’s business, the court…
   • § 116.570 (a) Any party may submit a written request to postpone a hearing date for good cause. (1) The written request may be made either by letter or on a form adopted…
6. ARTICLE 6. Judgment §§ 116.610–116.630 · 3 sections

   • § 116.610 (a) The small claims court shall give judgment for damages, or equitable relief, or both damages and equitable relief, within the jurisdictional limits stated…
   • § 116.620 (a) The judgment debtor shall pay the amount of the judgment either immediately or at the time and upon the terms and conditions, including payment by…
   • § 116.630 The court may, at any time after judgment, for good cause, upon motion by a party and notice by the clerk to all affected parties at their last known address,…
7. ARTICLE 7. Motion to Vacate, Appeal, and Related Matters §§ 116.710–116.798 · 13 sections

   • § 116.710 (a) The plaintiff in a small claims action shall have no right to appeal the judgment on the plaintiff’s claim, but a plaintiff who did not appear at the…
   • § 116.720 (a) A plaintiff who did not appear at the hearing in the small claims court may file a motion to vacate the judgment with the clerk of the small claims court.…
   • § 116.725 (a) A motion to correct a clerical error in a judgment or to set aside and vacate a judgment on the ground of an incorrect or erroneous legal basis for the…
   • § 116.730 (a) A defendant who did not appear at the hearing in the small claims court may file a motion to vacate the judgment with the clerk of the small claims court.…
   • § 116.740 (a) If the defendant was not properly served as required by Section 116.330 or 116.340 and did not appear at the hearing in the small claims court, the…
   • § 116.745 The clerk shall collect a fee of twenty dollars ($20) for the filing of a motion to vacate.
   • § 116.750 (a) An appeal from a judgment in a small claims action is taken by filing a notice of appeal with the clerk of the small claims court. (b) A notice of appeal…
   • § 116.760 (a) The appealing party shall pay a fee of seventy-five dollars ($75) for filing a notice of appeal. (b) A party who does not appeal shall not be charged any…
   • § 116.770 (a) The appeal to the superior court shall consist of a new hearing before a judicial officer other than the judicial officer who heard the action in the small…
   • § 116.780 (a) The judgment of the superior court after a hearing on appeal is final and not appealable. (b) Article 6 (commencing with Section 116.610) on judgments of…
   • § 116.790 If the superior court finds that the appeal was without substantial merit and not based on good faith, but was intended to harass or delay the other party, or…
   • § 116.795 (a) The superior court may dismiss the appeal if the appealing party does not appear at the hearing or if the appeal is not heard within one year from the date…
   • § 116.798 (a) (1) A petition that seeks a writ of review, a writ of mandate, or a writ of prohibition relating to an act of the small claims division, other than a…
8. ARTICLE 8. Satisfaction and Enforcement of Judgment §§ 116.810–116.880 · 8 sections

   • § 116.810 (a) Enforcement of the judgment of a small claims court, including the issuance or recording of any abstract of the judgment, is automatically suspended,…
   • § 116.820 (a) The judgment of a small claims court, or the judgment of the superior court after a hearing on appeal, may be enforced by the small claims court as…
   • § 116.830 (a) At the time judgment is rendered, or notice of entry of the judgment is mailed to the parties, the clerk shall deliver or mail to the judgment debtor a…
   • § 116.840 (a) At the option of the judgment debtor, payment of the judgment may be made either (1) to the judgment creditor in accordance with Section 116.850, or (2) to…
   • § 116.850 (a) If full payment of the judgment is made to the judgment creditor or to the judgment creditor’s assignee of record, then immediately upon receipt of…
   • § 116.860 (a) A judgment debtor who desires to make payment to the court in which the judgment was entered may file a request to make payment, which shall be made on a…
   • § 116.870 (a) Sections 16250 to 16381, inclusive, of the Vehicle Code, regarding the suspension of the judgment debtor’s privilege to operate a motor vehicle for failing…
   • § 116.880 (a) If the judgment (1) was for one thousand dollars ($1,000) or less, (2) resulted from a motor vehicle accident occurring on a California highway caused by…
9. ARTICLE 9. Administration §§ 116.920–116.950 · 4 sections

   • § 116.920 (a) The Judicial Council shall provide by rule for the practice and procedure and for the forms and their use in small claims actions. The rules and forms so…
   • § 116.930 (a) Each small claims division shall provide in each courtroom in which small claims actions are heard a current copy of a publication describing small claims…
   • § 116.940 (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section or in rules adopted by the Judicial Council, which are consistent with the requirements of this section, the…
   • § 116.950 (a) This section shall become operative only if the Department of Consumer Affairs determines that sufficient private or public funds are available in addition…