Senate Bill 18-56: Monetary Amounts in Civil Actions

Senate Bill 18-56 has been introduced and proposes to increase the County Court jurisdiction limit from $15,000 to $35,000 effective on January 1, 2019. So what does this mean for community associations? Currently, most lawsuits to collect delinquent owner debts are filed in County Courts. The process is fairly straightforward, with a return date (date when the homeowner’s response is due and he/she is presented an opportunity to discuss the case with the association’s attorney) scheduled after a delinquent owner is served with the lawsuit and a trial scheduled if the matter cannot be resolved informally and/or through mediation. If there is a debt to collect that exceeds $15,000, the matter must be filed in District Court where the process to litigate the matter is much more complicated and expensive.

If the Bill is passed, almost any collections matter up to $35,000 will be able to be filed in County Court and save associations time and money in collecting delinquent debt.

Stay tuned for additional blog posts discussing proposed legislation impacting community associations. 

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