(1) The Small Claims Court shall have subject matter jurisdiction in all civil actions of any type when the amount of money or damages or the value of the personal property claimed does not exceed the jurisdictional amount specified in subsection (4) of this section, exclusive of interest and costs.

Terms Used In Nebraska Statutes 25-2802

  • Action: shall include any proceeding in any court of this state. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Personal property: All property that is not real property.
  • Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
  • Year: shall mean calendar year. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801

(2) The Small Claims Court shall have subject matter jurisdiction in civil matters when the plaintiff seeks to disaffirm, avoid, or rescind a contract or agreement for the purchase of goods or services not in excess of the jurisdictional amount specified in subsection (4) of this section, exclusive of interest and costs.

(3) The Small Claims Court shall have jurisdiction when the party defendant or his or her agent resides or is doing business within the county or when the cause of action arose within the county.

(4) The jurisdictional amount is three thousand five hundred dollars from July 1, 2010, through June 30, 2015.

The Supreme Court shall continue to adjust the jurisdictional limit for the Small Claims Court every fifth year commencing July 1, 2015. The adjusted jurisdictional amount shall be equal to the then current jurisdictional amount adjusted by the average percentage change in the unadjusted Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers published by the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics for the five-year period preceding the adjustment date. The jurisdictional amount shall be rounded to the nearest one-hundred-dollar amount.