Attorney’s fees in the Small Claims Part are available only in exceptional circumstances, when fees are provided for by the contract or statute. David Siegel, New York Practice §600, at 968 (2d ed. 1991). The Small Claims Part does not want to favor those represented by counsel over pro se litigants.

TWO BRANCHES

The [Small Claims] part has two distinct branches:

The Commercial Claims Part and the standard Small Claims Part.

Commercial claims may be brought by corporations, partnerships or business associations whose principal office is in New York State. The filing fee for a commercial claim is $23.09. If the claim arises out of a consumer transaction, the claimant must sign and have notarized a certification that a demand letter was sent by first class mail to the defendant no less than 180 days before making the claim.

Demand letters are available from the Small Claims Part clerk’s office. Only a defendant who resides, works or has an office in New York City may be sued. Commercial claimants are limited to instituting no more than five actions a month.

To initiate a small claim, a claimant must pay a filing fee of $10 for relief up to $1,000 and $15 for relief from $1,001 to $3,000. The claimant or the attorney, files a form with the clerk’s off ice that states a general claim. The claimant should set forth the defendant’s correct names to aid in executing a possible judgment.

Although the failure to list a defendant’s correct name does not affect the right to bring an action, notices of judgment that misname a defendant are difficult to enforce without post-judgment delays. An attorney who discovers a defendant’s true name only during a Small Claims proceeding should ask the clerk to change the defendant’s name on the court records.

The Small Claims Clerk’s office may refuse to commence an action if the address for the defendant is a post office box. There is no jurisdictional requirement that a have an address in the county where the action is brought.

However, the clerk’s offices often refer the claimant to the county where the claimant or defendant has a business or residence. A defendant must reside, work or have an office in New York City for the Small Claims Part to have jurisdiction. Wessel v. Porter, 438 NYS2d 57, 59 (Buffalo City Ct.) 1981; Ratner v. Hudson Transit Lines Inc., NYS2d 311.312 (Civ. Ct., Queens County, 1962).

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