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A proposed bill that would establish a fund for Marion County’s nine township small claims courts unanimously passed the Senate Tax and Fiscal Policy Committee Tuesday.
“We got to keep the small claims courts alive,” Sen. Aaron Freeman, R-Indianapolis, the bill’s author, said during the committee hearing.
Senate Bill 327 requires the court to distribute document storage, 25% of judicial salaries, township docket and late fees, small claims service fees, and 40% of the court administration fees to the county auditor for distribution to the small claims fund.
The bill also changes the small claims service fee to $26 for each action filed in a Marion County small claims court.
It eliminates the concurrent jurisdiction of small claims cases between the circuit and superior courts and the Marion County small claims court and specifies that only the Marion County small claims court may have jurisdiction over the cases.
The bill provides that the fees in the small claims fund are to be distributed equally among the county’s nine townships and the fees must fund the operation of the small claims court located within the township.
A case qualifies as a small claims case if damages amount to less than $10,000.
Rabbi Aaron Spiegel, executive director and president of the Greater Indianapolis Multifaith Alliance, testified in support of the bill.
“We support SB 327, primarily because large landlords, corporate landlords, including private equity, are court shopping eviction cases into superior court to get better outcomes,” Spiegel said.
He added that they would like to see eviction cases in small claims court rather than superior court.
“It would make things better at least a little bit,” Spiegel said.
Reynold Berry, a partner with Rubin & Levin, opposed the part of the bill that eliminates concurrent jurisdiction.
“I think, as this bill continues to be amended, maybe eliminating concurrent jurisdiction, strictly for landlord-tenant, but allowing parties only seeking monetary damages to be able to file suit where they choose to file is important,” Berry said. “It’s important to my clients. It’s important for Indiana businesses.”
Krieg DeVault attorney Randy Head testified on behalf of Marion County’s small claims judges.
Head said, by implementing the $26 user fee, the courts would not be relying so much on the state budget and it would lessen the townships’ reliance on property taxes.
“It will help all nine courts stay alive and keep running,” Head said.
The bill heads to the full Senate for consideration.
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