General Assembly		Raised Bill No. 6924
January Session, 2015		LCO No. 4324
		*04324_______JUD*
Referred to Committee on JUDICIARY
Introduced by:
(JUD)

AN ACT INCREASING THE AMOUNT OF DAMAGES THAT MAY BE CLAIMED IN A SMALL CLAIMS ACTION.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. Subsection (d) of section 51-15 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2015, and applicable to small claims actions and counterclaims filed on or after said date):

(d) The procedure for the hearing and determination of small claims as the same may be prescribed, from time to time, by the judges of the Superior Court shall be used in all small claims sessions of the court. The small claims procedure shall be applicable to all actions, except actions of libel and slander, claiming money damages not in excess of [five] ten thousand dollars, and to no other actions. If an action is brought in the small claims session by a tenant pursuant to subsection (g) of section 47a-21 to reclaim any part of a security deposit which may be due, the judicial authority hearing the action may award to the tenant the damages authorized by subsection (d) of said section and, if authorized by the rental agreement or any provision of the general statutes, costs, notwithstanding that the amount of such damages and costs, in the aggregate, exceeds the jurisdictional monetary limit established by this subsection. If a motion is filed to transfer a small claims matter to the regular docket in the court, the moving party shall pay the fee prescribed by section 52-259, as amended by this act. The Attorney General or an assistant attorney general, or the head of any state agency or his or her authorized representative, while acting in his or her official capacity shall not be required to pay any small claims court fee. There shall be no charge for copies of service on defendants in small claims matters.

Sec. 2. Subsection (b) of section 52-259 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2015, and applicable to small claims actions and counterclaims filed on or after said date):

(b) The fee for the entry of a small claims case and for filing a counterclaim in a small claims case shall be: [ninety] (1) Ninety dollars for a small claims case or counterclaim claiming money damages not in excess of five thousand dollars, and (2) one hundred fifty dollars for a small claims case or counterclaim claiming money damages in excess of five thousand dollars. If a motion is filed to transfer a small claims case to the regular docket, the moving party shall pay a fee of one hundred twenty-five dollars.

This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1	October 1, 2015, and applicable to small claims actions and counterclaims filed on or after said date	51-15(d)
Sec. 2	October 1, 2015, and applicable to small claims actions and counterclaims filed on or after said date	52-259(b)

Statement of Purpose:

To increase the damages threshold in small claims cases and establish a new entry fee for claims exceeding five thousand dollars in money damages.

[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]