New York City Civil Court
| Court overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | September 1, 1962 |
| Jurisdiction | New York City |
| Court executives |
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| Parent department | New York State Unified Court System |
| Key document | |
| Website | nycourts |
The Civil Court of the City of New York is a civil court of the New York State Unified Court System in New York City that decides lawsuits involving claims for damages up to $25,000 and includes a small claims part (small claims court) for cases involving amounts up to $5,000 as well as a housing part (housing court) for landlord-tenant matters, and also handles other civil matters referred by the New York Supreme Court. It handles about 25% of all the New York state and local courts' total filings. The court has divisions by county (borough), but it is a single citywide court.
The Civil Court has monetary jurisdiction up to $25,000, including replevin when the value of the chattel does not exceed that amount, real property actions such as partitions, and foreclosures within the monetary limit, and also has equity jurisdiction limited to real property actions, ejectment actions, and actions to rescind or reform a contract not involving more than the $25,000 jurisdictional limit.
The court's divisions are by each county (borough). In each division there are a number of court parts established by the Chief Administrative Judge:
New York City Civil Court judges are elected countywide or from districts to 10-year terms, with vacancies filled by the mayor and service continuing until the last day of December after next election. A candidate needs to file petitions to be considered a candidate for a political party's nomination in the general election; petitions containing 4,000 signatures are needed for a county-wide seat, and petitions containing 1,500 signatures are necessary for a district seat.
Party leaders frequently designate candidates for the Civil Court judgeships, who then face an open primary against others who qualify for the ballot. The party machine usually manages to elect most of its judicial candidates.
Housing Part judges are appointed by the Chief Administrative Judge to five-year terms. Civil Court or Family Court Judges may be assigned by the New York Chief Judge to the Supreme Court and are referred to as "Acting Supreme Court Judges". The Chief Judge of New York, in consultation with the Chief Administrative Judge, Administrative Judges, Supervising Judges and the Presiding Justice of the relevant Appellate Division, assigns judges to sit in the county in which they were selected or another county, for example a judge elected to New York City Civil Court in Manhattan could be assigned to Family Court in the Bronx, although an acting Supreme Court judge is usually assigned to the county in which they were elected.
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