Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Florida

Court Jurisdiction Based on Value of Claim Limitation

How is court jurisdiction based on value calculated? For example, the jurisdiction of the Florida Small Claims Court is limited to $5,000. If the Plaintiff has claimed $2,500 and the defendant has made a counterclaim of $3,000 (for an aggregate amount of $5,500) does the case have to be transferred to a court with a higher valued limit of jurisdiction? I need the citation for the Florida statute that controlls this issue. I've had this exact thing happen and the Small Claims Court Judge ordered the case transferred. This makes no sense. For example, if two parties were to each claim $5,000; only one party can prevail on any given issue and wins by one party would offset the wins of the other party thereby limiting the awardable amount to a maximum of $5,000. So, calculating the limitation of the court's jurisdiction based on the aggregate amount claimed by the two parties cannot be correct. However, I need the citation to prove this proposition.


Asked on 5/26/06, 6:42 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Thomas Shigo The Shigo Law Firm, P.A.

Re: Court Jurisdiction Based on Value of Claim Limitation

The $5000.00 limit on small claims is set by the Florida Small Claims Rules of Procedure, Rule 7.010(b). You can find this rule by linking to the florida bar website: www.flabar.org.

Read more
Answered on 5/30/06, 9:25 am


Related Questions & Answers

More General Civil Litigation questions and answers in Florida