H-1938.1  _______________________________________________

                    SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1210

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      55th Legislature     1997 Regular Session

By House Committee on Law & Justice (originally sponsored by Representatives Sheahan, Appelwick, Robertson, Kessler, Romero, Wensman and Costa)

Read first time 02/18/97.

Adjusting the jurisdictional amount for district courts.

    AN ACT Relating to civil jurisdiction of district courts; and amending RCW 3.66.020.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

    Sec. 1.  RCW 3.66.020 and 1991 c 33 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

    ((If the value of the claim or the amount at issue does not exceed twenty-five thousand dollars, exclusive of interest, costs, and attorneys' fees,)) (1) The district court shall have jurisdiction and cognizance of the following civil actions and proceedings subject to the provisions of subsection (2) of this section:

    (((1))) (a) Actions arising on contract for the recovery of money;

    (((2))) (b) Actions for damages for injuries to the person, or for taking or detaining personal property, or for injuring personal property, or for an injury to real property when no issue raised by the answer involves the plaintiff's title to or possession of the same and actions to recover the possession of personal property;

    (((3))) (c) Actions for a penalty;

    (((4))) (d) Actions upon a bond conditioned for the payment of money, when the amount claimed does not exceed ((twenty-five thousand dollars)) the jurisdictional amount provided under subsection (2) of this section, though the penalty of the bond exceeds that sum, the judgment to be given for the sum actually due, not exceeding the amount claimed in the complaint;

    (((5))) (e) Actions on an undertaking or surety bond taken by the court;

    (((6))) (f) Actions for damages for fraud in the sale, purchase, or exchange of personal property;

    (((7))) (g) Proceedings to take and enter judgment on confession of a defendant;

    (((8))) (h) Proceedings to issue writs of attachment, garnishment and replevin upon goods, chattels, moneys, and effects; and

    (((9))) (i) All other actions and proceedings of which jurisdiction is specially conferred by statute, when the title to, or right of possession of real property is not involved.

(2) The district court shall exercise concurrent jurisdiction with the superior court in all actions and proceedings set forth in subsection (1) of this section where the value of the claim or the amount at issue does not exceed thirty-five thousand dollars, exclusive of interest, costs, and attorneys' fees.  The district court may exercise concurrent jurisdiction with the superior court in all actions and proceedings set forth in subsection (1) of this section where the value of the claim exceeds thirty-five thousand dollars but does not exceed fifty thousand dollars, exclusive of interest, costs, and attorneys' fees, if the district court has agreed to exercise such jurisdiction.

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