[Nrsolis]

California is weird.

On the east coast (NYC in particular), things are a bit more sane in some ways and a bit crazier in others.

Of course, this is all inside baseball. As a practical matter, it's HIGHLY LIKELY that this will never get before a judge. No corporation is going to send their CEO to court to argue a case and if they can't send a lawyer to small claims, they will just submit a motion to move the case to regular civil court because reasons.

Of course, if that happens, then they've already lost. It will be FAR more expensive to litigate in plain old civil court.

For the record, IANAL but I've hired and fired a bunch of them and done this dance a few times already on both sides of the coin. Bunch of lawyer friends too. One of them was just on TV doing a press conference for his client, a Navy SEAL.

YMMV.

[staticautomatic]

You seem to be commenting well beyond the bounds of your knowledge or expertise.

1. None of this is weird. NY has even more kinds of courts than CA does, including "limited" courts just like CA. I consult on lawsuits around the country, including in various courts in CA and NY, and NY is at least as screwy as CA in every meaningful way I can think of.

2. To the contrary, small claims suits are highly likely to make it in front of a judge. In fact, that's just about the only place they're likely to go because small claims courts strongly discourage the use of pretrial motions. A business that is sued is not required to send the CEO just because they're not allowed to send a lawyer. They can either send a regular employee or they can send no one, in which case they're more or less guaranteed to lose by default.

3. A defendant can't remove a properly filed small claims suit to a higher court just because they feel like it. The small claims venue either has to be improper or there have to be some very unusual extenuating circumstances for the courts to even consider removal. There's an abundance of case law on this, and for good reason, including in NY.

[dang]

Please edit the personal swipes out of your comments here, even if someone else's comments are wrong and/or provocative.

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

[Nrsolis]

Are you a lawyer? My parents were married.

Now...if we can get back to your points.

Cite sources for your assertions. You say there is plenty of NY case law then cite a couple of examples. You say that small claims cases are more likely to end up in front of a judge. How do you know this? Are you taking into account the number of cases that are dismissed because the two parties reached an agreement before trial that resolved the issue?

If you're an expert on the law and you think I'm not then PUHLEEZE demonstrate something besides an ability to google counterexamples.

When you've been sued and had to sue people you quickly develop an appreciation for how the legal system REALLY works and how lawsuits are a tool for negotiation. I will tell you that I've sued a handful of people and none of those times did we actually go to trial. We settled because the cost of a trial would have far exceeded the disputed amount.

The one time I was sued in small claims, I settled. I actually settled IN THE COURTROOM and informed the judge that he could dismiss the case.

Get some time on the pond, kid. Otherwise, go kick rocks.

[dang]

Personal attacks will get you banned here. Would you please review the site guidelines and stick to the rules on HN?

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

[Nrsolis]

Delete my account.

[staticautomatic]

You're acting like a jerk and you don't know what you're talking about but I'm going to humor you anyway.

1) Here are three from NY (there's isn't much more case law than this because small claims cases-- to my point-- are rarely removed to higher courts):

1a) Shaw v Point Lookout Toys, LLC., 58 Misc. 3d 789: "While the court appreciates the defendants' concerns, they must be weighed against the "salutary purposes of Small Claims Courts which is to provide a simple, informal and inexpensive procedure for the prompt determination of claims within its jurisdiction" (Kilinski v Melendez, 182 Misc 2d 55, 57, 696 NYS2d 780 [Sup Ct, Nassau County 1999], citing UDCA 1802 [the UCCA 1802 counterpart applicable to District Court]). Indeed, these underpinnings of small claims court have been deemed a substantial right to which parties are entitled."

1b) Fordham Rent A Car Corp. v. Hyman, 109 Misc. 2d 176 : "For this court to direct the removal of the small claims action would ignore the intended purpose of the 1979 amendment of subdivision (b) of section 1805 of the New York City Civil Court Act (CCA) which seeks to prevent divestiture of small claims jurisdiction"

1c) Moise v Brown (26 Misc 3d 1224[A], 907 NYS2d 438, 2010 NY Slip Op 50243[U] [Sup Ct, Kings County 2010]) : "Transfer and consolidation here, therefore, would prejudice a substantial right of defendant Keon K. Brown, that is, the right to have his claim resolved according to the standard and rules applicable in the Small Claims Part of Civil Court, whereas allowing the Small Claims action to proceed would not prejudice Plaintiff in this action."

2. I'm not saying the cases don't settle. I'm saying that small claims cases which don't settle almost always go before a judge. They are rarely disposed of by pretrial motions because small claims courts strongly discourage and in some instances prohibit pretrial motions. In CA, for example, a defendant could file a motion to dismiss but that's about it. Other means of disposing cases (e.g. summary judgment) are unavailable.