--- name: ny-justice-courts description: > Use when drafting or filing in a New York Town or Village Justice Court (~1,250 courts statewide) established under the Uniform Justice Court Act (UJCA) with procedural rules at 22 NYCRR Part 214. Triggers include 'Town Justice Court', 'Village Justice Court', 'UJCA', '$3,000 small claims', 'East Hampton Justice', 'Southampton Town', 'Riverhead Town', 'Shelter Island'. Covers civil jurisdiction up to $3,000 (UJCA § 202), small claims up to $3,000, and part-time-judge lay-bench dynamics. NOT for cities (use `ny-city-courts`), Long Island Districts (use `ny-nassau-dc` / `ny-suffolk-dc`), or NYC Civil Court (use `ny-nyc-civil-court`). Especially relevant for **eastern Suffolk County** (East Hampton, Southampton, Riverhead, Shelter Island, Southold), which routes to Town Justice Courts, not Suffolk District Court. version: 0.1.2 --- # Town & Village Justice Courts (UJCA / 22 NYCRR Part 214) > **NOT LEGAL ADVICE.** Verify the specific Town or Village > Justice Court's schedule, sitting judge, and clerk hours > before every filing. ## At a glance - **Court system**: Town and Village Justice Courts — ~1,250 courts across the state established under the **Uniform Justice Court Act (UJCA)** of 1966 with procedural rules at **22 NYCRR Part 214** - **Civil jurisdiction**: up to **$3,000** (UJCA § 202) - **Small claims**: up to **$3,000** in informal proceedings (UJCA § 1801) - **Commercial claims**: up to **$3,000** for entities (UJCA § 1801-A) - **L&T (summary proceedings)**: no monetary cap on rent arrears; RPAPL Article 7 procedure applies; very high volume in rural and exurban towns - **Criminal**: Vehicle and Traffic Law violations; lower- level misdemeanors; arraignments - **Filing fee**: **$20** for civil filings under UJCA § 1911 ## How the court works in practice A Justice Court is typically located in the **Town Hall** or **Village Hall**. The Justice (judge) is elected; in many small towns the position is part-time and the Justice has a day job in private practice or another field. A single clerk handles intake, filings, and calendaring. Court sessions are commonly held one or two evenings per week. ### Lay-judge note Under UJCA § 105, Town and Village Justices are **not required to be attorneys** — many are non-lawyers. State law requires a brief training program through the OCA Justice Court Assistance Program (JCAP). The procedural rules at 22 NYCRR Part 214 are streamlined to accommodate lay-judge administration, but RPAPL Article 7 (for L&T) and the CPLR (for civil) still apply. ### Multi-municipality assignments Some judges sit in **multiple courts** — e.g., a Village Justice may also serve as a Town Justice in a neighboring town. Conflicts and recusals are common in small communities. The OCA's Justice Court Assistance Program manages staffing across the ~1,250 courts. ## When you end up in Justice Court The four most common civil scenarios: ### 1. Small claims under $3,000 Pro se plaintiff vs. pro se defendant; informal proceedings; no formal pleadings; arbitrator-style hearing within 14-30 days of filing. ### 2. Eastern Suffolk County civil disputes The five eastern Suffolk towns — **East Hampton, Southampton, Riverhead, Shelter Island, Southold** — are **excluded from Suffolk District Court** coverage. Civil matters arising in those towns route to the Town Justice Court for amounts up to $3,000 and to **Suffolk Supreme Court** for higher amounts. There is **no $15,000-cap middle tier** in eastern Suffolk. ### 3. Town / Village L&T summary proceedings RPAPL Article 7 nonpayment and holdover petitions filed in the town or village where the rental property is located. 14-day rent demand (post-HSTPA § 711(2)) and 30/60/90-day holdover notice (RPL § 226-c) apply. The Justice Court hears the petition; the tenant has the same defenses available in NYC Housing Court (warranty of habitability, retaliatory eviction, etc.). ### 4. Code-enforcement Town Court referrals Town and Village Justice Courts hear local code-enforcement matters — zoning violations, junk-vehicle ordinances, short-term-rental disputes — referred by the municipality. This is a civil-but-enforcement-adjacent docket distinct from the consumer civil matters above. ## Distinctives ### Procedure is leaner than other civil courts Justice Court civil procedure is **deliberately streamlined**. 22 NYCRR Part 214 mirrors Part 212 (Long Island District Court) with further simplifications: - Pleadings can be very short - Discovery is rare and requires court permission - Motion practice is limited; most disputes resolve at the first or second appearance - Trial is usually a 1-2 hour bench trial ### Appeal goes to County Court, not Appellate Division Appeals from Justice Court civil judgments go to the **County Court** of the same county under UJCA § 1701, not to the Appellate Division. (Some districts route appeals to Appellate Term instead — verify per the Second Department's coverage map.) ### Recording is local — not unified Justice Court records are kept by the Town or Village — **not by OCA**. Pulling a record requires contacting the specific court clerk by phone (no central electronic docket). Some larger Town Justice Courts have begun publishing dockets online; most have not. ### Right to Counsel and Good Cause Eviction — opt-in Local Law 136 universal Right to Counsel applies only in NYC. Outside NYC, RTC is opt-in by municipality and is **not** available in most Justice Courts. The 2024 Good Cause Eviction Law is opt-in by municipality outside NYC — verify whether the Town or Village has adopted before drafting a Good Cause defense or holdover petition. ### Witness fees + costs are token UJCA § 1903 caps witness fees at $5/day; subpoena fees at $5/document. The court's general operating cost structure is intentionally low. ## Filing checklist 1. **Summons + Complaint** — UJCA § 401; short form; $20 filing fee (UJCA § 1911); affidavit of service under CPLR 308 service rules 2. **Predicate notice** — for L&T, 14-day rent demand under RPAPL § 711(2) or 30/60/90-day holdover notice under RPL § 226-c 3. **Answer** — defendant has **20 days** from personal service or **30 days** from substituted service 4. **First appearance** — typically 14-30 days from issue joined 5. **Trial** — bench trial; 30-90 days from filing in most cases > **Format compliance:** 22 NYCRR Part 214 governs Justice > Court filings. Use `ny-statewide-format` as the baseline; > Part 214 is the leanest of the trial-court format rule > sets. ## Composition with other ny- skills - `ny-statewide-format` — baseline 22 NYCRR Part 202 format with Part 214 Justice Court adjustments - `ny-nyc-civil-court` — distinct court for matters inside NYC - `ny-city-courts` — distinct court for matters inside a city's territorial reach - `ny-suffolk-dc` — distinct court for the five western Suffolk towns + Brookhaven (eastern Suffolk towns route to Justice Court) - `ny-county-courts` — appellate destination for Justice Court civil appeals - `ny-consumer-debt` — CCFA applies in Justice Court Civil Part the same way it applies elsewhere - `ny-landlord-tenant` — RPAPL Article 7 mechanics for Justice Court L&T docket - `ny-pro-se` — pro se framework - `ny-file-packet` — paper-filing assembly (Justice Courts are paper-only in most jurisdictions) ## Pro-se resources - **NYS OCA Court Help** — `nycourts.gov/courthelp/` has Justice Court-specific forms - **OCA Justice Court Assistance Program (JCAP)** — staff available for procedural questions - **Regional legal aid offices** (LawNY, LSHV, Legal Aid Buffalo, Hiscock, Legal Aid Society of NE NY) cover most upstate counties for income-qualifying defendants in L&T and major-asset civil matters ## When to escalate out of Justice Court If the dispute exceeds the $3,000 civil cap, the action must be commenced in: - **Supreme Court** — general jurisdiction; no monetary cap (use the appropriate `ny-nyco`, `ny-kings`, `ny-bronx`, `ny-nassau`, `ny-queens`, or `ny-county-courts` skill) - **County Court** — civil jurisdiction up to $25,000 in counties outside NYC (rarely used as a civil forum since most counties prefer to route civil to Supreme Court) - **District Court** — Nassau or Suffolk only; $15,000 cap For L&T matters, even at low rent-arrears values, the Justice Court remains the proper forum for the town / village where the property is located.