Delaware’s Justice of the Peace Court Jurisdiction Limited to $15,000 – Legislation Pending to Increase Limit to $25,000. Change in Commercial Lease Litigation
At present, if a Delaware retailer of alcoholic beverages leases space for its operation and the lease is terminated, then it can expect to lose its license. See Decision & Order, The Boardroom Restaurant, LLC, Violation Nos. 07421, 07483. In the State of Delaware, cases involving lease disputes are typically heard in the appropriate Justice of the Peace Court.
A Justice of the Peace can hear cases with a value not exceeding $15,000 but also has jurisdiction over possession of the premises in all landlord-tenant cases. In landlord-tenant cases, where the amount in controversy exceeds the jurisdictional limit, the landlord can either submit to the $15,000 limit while seeking possession or pursue two cases: one in JP Court to obtain possession of the unit and another to obtain money damages in either the Court of Common Pleas or the Superior Court.
Legislation passed the Delaware House of Representatives in June 2019 that would increase the jurisdictional limit in all JP Court cases to $25,000. See HB 232. The legislation also removes the $25,000 general jurisdictional cap from landlord-tenant cases involving commercial leases. See House Bill 232. The bill also includes a provision that allows bifurcating the action into a possession case in JP Court and a monetary damages case in CCP or Superior Court.
The move to increase the JP Court monetary cap on jurisdiction in Delaware is in line with the trend in other states. In Massachusetts, for example, the Commonwealth’s District and Municipal Courts have a $25,000 cap (subject to counterclaims). That amount was last updated in 1986 and the court system solicited comments on the possibility of doubling the amount. See Release from Trial Courts.