{"id":4739,"date":"2004-02-25T20:30:29","date_gmt":"2004-02-26T00:30:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/formerlyknownas\/2004\/02\/25\/indiana-senator-wants-to-take"},"modified":"2011-08-05T14:58:59","modified_gmt":"2011-08-05T18:58:59","slug":"indiana-senator-wants-to-take-small-claims-back-to-the-20th-century","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/2004\/02\/25\/indiana-senator-wants-to-take-small-claims-back-to-the-20th-century\/","title":{"rendered":"Indiana Senator Wants to Take Small Claims Back to the 20th Century"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Halt.org<\/A> is reporting in its latest eJournal that Indiana “Senator James W. Merritt, Jr. introduced Senate Bill 455, which would reduce the small claims jurisdiction from $6,000 to $3,000. This would effectively repeal the recently passed increase in small claims jurisdiction from $3,000 to $6,000. HALT’s research indicates that no state has ever decreased its small claims jurisdictional limit.”<\/FONT><\/P>
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Click here<\/A> to see the text of Merritt’s (um) meritless bill.  The digest of the Bill states: <\/P>
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“Small claims courts. Provides that the jurisdictional amount for small claims or city court actions includes attorney’s fees. Reduces to $3,000 the jurisdictional amount in small claims or city court actions not involving landlord-tenant disputes, and removes a provision that would have increased the jurisdictional amount to $6,000 in 2005. Permits a pretrial hearing to determine whether a claim is frivolous. Prohibits the granting of a continuance solely on the basis that the party is not represented by an attorney. Requires the judge to file a brief memorandum documenting the reasons for the judgment.”<\/FONT><\/P><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
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\"no  Earlier this month, we were <\/FONT>worried<\/FONT><\/A> about small claims reform taking backward steps, but not quite this blatantly.<\/FONT><\/P>
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