§ 1803-A — Commencement of action upon commercial claims

§ 1803-A. Commencement of action upon commercial claims.\n (a) Commercial claims other than claims arising out of consumer\ntransactions shall be commenced upon the payment by the claimant of a\nfiling fee of twenty-five dollars and the cost of mailings as herein\nprovided, without the service of a summons and, except by special order\nof the court, without the service of any pleading other than a required\ncertification verified as to its truthfulness by the claimant on a form\nprescribed by the state office of court administration and filed with\nthe clerk, that no more than five such actions or proceedings (including\nthe instant action or proceeding) have been instituted during that\ncalendar month, and a statement of its cause of action by the claimant\nor someone in its behalf to the clerk, who shall reduce the same to a\nconcise, written form and record it in a docket kept especially for such\npurpose. Such procedure shall provide that the commercial claims part of\nthe court shall have no jurisdiction over, and shall dismiss, any case\nwith respect to which the required certification is not made upon the\nattempted institution of the action or proceeding. Such procedure shall\nprovide for the sending of notice of such claim by ordinary first class\nmail and certified mail with return receipt requested to the party\ncomplained against at his residence, if he resides within the county in\nwhich the court is located, and his residence is known to the claimant,\nor at his office or place of regular employment within such county if he\ndoes not reside therein or his residence within the county is not known\nto the claimant. If, after the expiration of twenty-one days, such\nordinary first class mailing has not been returned as undeliverable, the\nparty complained against shall be presumed to have received notice of\nsuch claim. Such notice shall include a clear description of the\nprocedure for filing a counterclaim, pursuant to subdivision (d) of this\nsection.\n Such procedure shall further provide for an early hearing upon and\ndetermination of such claim. The hearing shall be scheduled in a manner\nwhich, to the extent possible, minimizes the time the party complained\nagainst must be absent from employment.\n Either party may request that the hearing be scheduled during evening\nhours, provided that the hearing shall not be scheduled during evening\nhours if it would cause unreasonable hardship to either party. The court\nshall not unreasonably deny requests for evening hearings if such\nrequests are made by the claimant upon commencement of the action or by\nthe party complained against within fourteen days of receipt of the\nnotice of claim.\n (b) Commercial claims in actions arising out of consumer transactions\nshall be commenced upon the payment by the claimant of a filing fee of\ntwenty-five dollars and the cost of mailings as herein provided, without\nthe service of a summons and, except by special order of the court,\nwithout the service of any pleading other than a required statement of\nthe cause of action by the claimant or someone on its behalf to the\nclerk, who shall reduce the same to a concise written form including the\ninformation required by subdivision (c) of this section, denominate it\nconspicuously as a consumer transaction, and record it in the docket\nmarked as a consumer transaction, and by filing with the clerk a\nrequired certificate verified as to its truthfulness by the claimant on\nforms prescribed by the state office of court administration.\n Such verified certificate shall certify (i) that the claimant has\nmailed by ordinary first class mail to the party complained against a\ndemand letter, no less than ten days and no more than one hundred eighty\ndays prior to the commencement of the claim, and (ii) that, based upon\ninformation and belief, the claimant has not instituted more than five\nactions or proceedings (including the instant action or proceeding)\nduring the calendar month.\n A form for the demand letter shall be prescribed and furnished by the\nstate office of court administration and shall require the following\ninformation: the date of the consumer transaction; the amount that\nremains unpaid; a copy of the original debt instrument or other document\nunderlying the debt and an accounting of all payments, and, if the\nclaimant was not a party to the original transaction, the names and\naddresses of the parties to the original transaction; and a statement\nthat the claimant intends to use this part of the court to obtain a\njudgment, that further notice of a hearing date will be sent, unless\npayment is received by a specified date, and that the party complained\nagainst will be entitled to appear at said hearing and present any\ndefenses to the claim.\n In the event that the verified certificate is not properly completed\nby the claimant, the court shall not allow the action to proceed until\nthe verified certificate is corrected. Notice of such claim shall be\nsent by the clerk by both ordinary first class mail and certified mail\nwith return receipt requested to the party complained against at his\nresidence, if he resides within the county in which the court is\nlocated, and his residence is known to the claimant, or at his office or\nplace of regular employment within such county if he does not reside\ntherein or his residence is not known to the claimant. If, after the\nexpiration of thirty days, such ordinary first class mailing has not\nbeen returned as undeliverable, the party complained against shall be\npresumed to have received notice of such claim.\n Such procedure shall further provide for an early hearing upon and\ndetermination of such claim. The hearing shall be scheduled in a manner\nwhich, to the extent possible, minimizes the time the party complained\nagainst must be absent from employment. Either party may request that\nthe hearing be scheduled during evening hours, provided that the hearing\nshall not be scheduled during evening hours if it would cause unreason-\nable hardship to either party. The court shall not unreasonably deny\nrequests for evening hearings if such requests are made by the claimant\nupon commencement of the action or by the party complained against\nwithin fourteen days of receipt of the notice of claim.\n (c) The clerk shall furnish every claimant, upon commencement of the\naction, and every party complained against, with the notice of claim,\nand with information written in clear and coherent language which shall\nbe prescribed and furnished by the state office of court administration,\nconcerning the commercial claims part. Such information shall include,\nbut not be limited to, the form for certification and filing by the\nclaimant that no more than five such actions or proceedings have been\ninstituted during that calendar month, and an explanation of the\nfollowing terms and procedures: adjournments, counterclaims, jury trial\nrequests, evening hour requests, demand letters in cases concerning\nconsumer transactions, default judgments, subpoenas, arbitration and\ncollection methods, the responsibility of the judgment creditor to\ncollect data on the judgment debtor's assets, the ability of the court\nprior to entering judgment to order examination of or disclosure by, the\ndefendant and restrain him, and fees. The information shall be available\nin English and, if the chief administrator determines it is appropriate\nor necessary, in Spanish. Large signs in English and if the chief\nadministrator requires it, in Spanish shall be posted in conspicuous\nlocations in each commercial claims part clerk's office, advising the\npublic of its availability.\n (d) A defendant who wishes to file a counterclaim shall do so by\nfiling with the clerk a statement containing such counterclaim within\nfive days of receiving the notice of claim. At the time of such filing\nthe defendant shall pay to the clerk a filing fee of five dollars plus\nthe cost of mailings which are required pursuant to this subdivision.\nThe clerk shall forthwith send notice of the counterclaim by ordinary\nfirst class mail to the claimant. If the defendant fails to file the\ncounterclaim in accordance with the provisions of this subdivision, the\ndefendant retains the right to file the counterclaim, however the\nclaimant may, but shall not be required to, request and obtain\nadjournment of the hearing to a later date. The claimant may reply to\nthe counterclaim but shall not be required to do so.\n