NYC lawyers are optimistic with the vote to increase the monetary limit seen in civil courts

By Maya Gengozian

Election Story, November 5, 2021

"People vote at the Brooklyn Museum in New York City." - Politico | Spencer Platt/Getty Images https://www.politico.com/news/2022/03/02/new-york-noncitizen-voting-00012970

Though it was a landslide victory for Eric Adams in the mayoral race in New York City on Tuesday, only two of the five proposed measures on the ballot passed -- measures two and five -- despite their vague and nonspecific descriptions. Proposal five raised the monetary limit civil courts can take from $25,000 to $50,000, increasing the number of cases that can be seen in the civil courts.

Proposal five is expected to take a bit of the load off the state’s Supreme Court and make it easier for people to file small claims legally -- but only if the civil courts have the necessary staff to do so.

Before this proposed measure, citizens of New York City who needed to file claims over $25,000 would have to file in the state’s Supreme Court. There was no telling how long -- or how much monetary cost -- it would take to settle these disputes. Lawyers in NYC recare cautiously optimistic about this increase in the monetary limit.

“I think we would need more judges to potentially handle these [cases],” said Sidney Cherubin, Director of Legal Services at The Brooklyn Volunteer Lawyers Project (Brooklyn VLP). The Brooklyn VLP has been providing free legal assistance to Brooklyn residents living at or below 200% of the poverty guidelines for over 30 years, working in several courts such as family, bankruptcy, property, and uncontested divorce courts.

The NYC civil court has 120 judges elected to the court, however only 50 are currently sitting in the civil court. Cherubin said that the Office of Court Administration (OCA) should start planning what they are going to do with the influx of cases that will be filed in the civil court.

“With the increased number [of civil court cases], it’s going to add stress to the judges who are already there,” Cherubin said.

Organizations like the Brooklyn VLP and legal service providers will also be affected by this change in the civil courts, especially if the OCA is not ready to combat this change. “We will probably see an increase in the number of people needing assistance in the civil court,” said Cherubin. “Even for legal service providers it’s going to be an issue because it’s going to be more clients, so you need more funding to meet the needs of the community.”

Because there was not an extensive breakdown of what would happen if this ballot proposal passed, many voters did not have strong opinions on the measure.

“I don't know much about it, but it seems good if it'll help people get into [the] court,” said Vicky Nichols who voted on Tuesday. Another voter, Erin Goodman, said she also didn’t know a lot about the measure, but that she voted yes since it seemed like a “good idea.”

Cherubin said that while the city may not be prepared for the increase in civil court cases, this change will be good for litigants.

“The civil court is a lot easier to maneuver than the Supreme Court, and there are more organizations out there that are able to provide assistance in civil courts as opposed to the Supreme Court,” said Cherubin. “Then, people aren’t faced with the procedural hurdles that exist in the Supreme Court and some of the financial requirements the Supreme Court has; so, for an unrepresented litigant who can’t afford an attorney, I think this is a good thing.”

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