A Large Change to Small Claims Court
A Large Change to Small Claims Court
In a previous SVL update, we highlighted the changes to County Court Jurisdiction in Florida. (That SVL Update can be found under the News tab of our website: www.svllaw.com, where we explain that the Florida county court jurisdiction is increasing to $30,0000.00.) Considering those changes which take effect on January 1, 2020, the Florida Supreme Court has approved a new rule that changes the jurisdictional limits of small claims court. Currently, small claims court jurisdiction includes cases where the amount in dispute is up to $5,000.00. The new rule raises the limit to $8,000.00 effective January 1, 2020.
If your Credit Union handles its own small claims cases, you can now file suit on claims where the principal balance is $8,000.00 or less. If you do not take advantage of small claims court to pursue charge-off debts without the use of a lawyer, now may be the time to consider using it to increase your recoveries in 2020.
Should you have any questions about small claims court or need training on the pursuit of debts through small claims court, do not hesitate to contact one of the lawyers at SVL.
Under this new law, the jurisdiction of county court is increased to $30,000.00 effective January 1, 2020. As a result, after January 1, 2020, the jurisdiction for the circuit courts will be for any claims in excess of $30,000.00. Then on January 1, 2023, the jurisdiction of the county court is increased to include claims up to $50,000.00, which will give the circuit courts jurisdiction in any claim in excess of $50,000.00.
