What is the Civil Court and how are the Judges Elected

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. An regular election occurred for civil and surrogate courts candidates. Candidates for the supreme courts are chosen indirectly by delegates and appear only on the general election ballot. 


Civil Court Judges are Elected Countywide and by Districts in each borough in direct elections


The Civil Court has monetary jurisdiction up to $25,000.00, including replevin when the value of the chattel does not exceed that amount. ... Cases brought by self-represented litigants are automatically placed on the court's Personal Appearance Part calendar for conference when an answer is filed. 

Judges of the Civil Court are elected and serve terms of 10 years. There are 120 Civil Court Judges, of which approximately 50 sit in the Civil Court. The rest of the judges elected to theCivil Court sit in various other courts, including Criminal Court and Family Court.

If You Are Suing: Small Claims or a Limited Civil? If you are an individual and want to file a lawsuit for $10,000 or less, you have the option of filing a small claims case or a limited civil case. If you are a business, you can file in small claims court for $5,000 or less. 

Civil Court Cases. When you sue someone for damages, such as in an assault or defamation suit, you are engaging in a civil court action. The legal justice system is divided into two main courts: criminal and civil. 

How Much is the Filing Fee? To start the lawsuit, a filing fee of $50. to $110. is common. The exact amount depends on the amount for which you sue. If you are successful, the party you sue will be required to reimburse you for the costs you pay to file the suit.