When it comes to small claims cases, the most you can sue for is $3000 in Town or Village Courts and $5000 in City Courts.
What if you have a claim against an individual or company that exceeds that particular court's "jurisdictional limit," can you split your case into different parts and start several lawsuits to recover the total due? For example, if someone owes you $9,000, can you start three cases in a Town or Village court for $3000, or two cases -- one for $5000 and another for $4000 -- in a City Court?
According to appellate decisions, the answer is a resounding no.
By way of example, in Peterson v. Youngelman, a seller sued to recover monies which had been deposited in escrow to ensure his performance with certain post-closing obligations. (If the seller made certain repairs and vacated the home within sixty days after closing, he could recover $6000.) Apparently, the seller successfully sued for $5000 (the governing small claims jurisdictional maximum) in the Suffolk County District Court to recoup the funds. In a subsequent small claims lawsuit, the seller sued for the $1000 balance and was also awarded a money judgment on that amount.
On appeal, the Appellate Term, 9th and 10th Judicial Districts, found the multiple suits (premised upon the same underlying claim) violative of law and reversed the second money judgment. As the appellate court noted:
The monetary jurisdictional limit of the court cannot be circumvented in this manner. "A single cause of action may not be divided merely for the convenience of the plaintiff in seeking a forum" ... Since defendant's alleged breaches of the escrow provision were completed when plaintiff commenced the first small claims action, the instant cause of action is in fact part of an indivisible claim for $6,000 ....
Because this amount exceeds the jurisdictional limit of the small claims court ..., the instant action should have been dismissed ....
So, while you can split ends, split hairs, split infinitives, split one's sides, split one's vote, split screens, split shifts, and, even split the difference, when it comes to filing lawsuits, there's no splitting a "cause of action" or claim.
For a copy of the Appellate Term's decision, please use the following link: Peterson v. Youngelman
Also see Walters v. Perrino : ("'A single cause of action may not be divided merely for the convenience of the plaintiff in seeking a forum' ... Because the total damages sought in the two actions exceed the $5,000 limit of the small claims court ..., the actions must be dismissed ....").