KENNETH AMIRA, PETITIONER,
v.
HAROLD VINEBERG, PETER DEMET AND STANLEY PEAL, D/B/A COLISEUM LANES, RESPONDENTS
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The court held that the plaintiff's good faith claim for damages, not the judge's estimate of recoverable damages, determines jurisdiction.
Plaintiff Kenneth Amira sued for personal injuries, claiming damages for pain, suffering, and medical expenses after fracturing both wrists. The trial…
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Kenneth Amira, who was plaintiff in an action in the Circuit Court, has presented this petition for writ of certiorari to review an order transferring the cause to the Civil Court of Record. It appears from the record that the order being reviewed was entered after pretrial conference and was based' upon the conclusion of the circuit judge that the plaintiff could not in good faith claim as damages a sum in excess of $5,000.
The Circuit Court has original jurisdiction in all actions at law not cognizable by inferior courts. Article V, § 6, Florida Constitution, F.S.A. The Civil Court of Record of Dade County has jurisdiction of actions at law where the matter in controversy does not exceed, exclusive of interest and cost, the sum of $5,000. § 33.14, Fla. Stat., F.S.A.
Where jurisdiction is dependent on the amount involved in the case, the question turns not upon the amount claimed or the amount actually recoverable, but the test is the amount claimed and put into controversy in good faith. Richter Jewelry Co. v. Harrison, 147 Fla. 732, 3 So.2d 387; Curley *95v. Miami Transit Co., Fla.App. 1962, 141 So. 2d 299. The plaintiff claimed damages for personal injury after fracturing both wrists. The wrists were placed in casts for approximately eight weeks with resultant pain and suffering. Medical expenses were $259, and it appears from the record that the permanency of the injury is, at best, questionable. The circuit judge’s estimate of the recoverable damages may be more accurate than that of the plaintiff; nevertheless, the test as stated above is the amount claimed in good faith by the plaintiff.
We conclude that the record does not support the finding of the circuit judge that the plaintiff could not in good faith claim damages in excess of $5,000. Therefore, the writ is granted and the order of the Circuit Court remanding the cause to the Civil Court of Record is quashed with directions to reinstate the cause in the Circuit Court.
It is so ordered.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Whitley v. Phil-Nick's, Inc., 451 So. 2d 925 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984)…iction is dependent on the amount involved in the case, the question turns not upon the amount claimed or the amount actually recoverable; instead, the test is whether the amount was claimed and put into controversy in good faith. Amira v. Vineberg, 144 So. 2d 94 (Fla.3d DCA 1962) and PTS of Gainesville, Inc. v. Olivetti Corporation of America, 334 So. 2d 324 (Fla.1st DCA 1976). In Amira the district court found that: The circuit judge’s estimate of the recoverable damages may be more accurate than that of…
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McCOTTER Motor Co. v. Woody, 184 So. 2d 925 (Fla. 4th DCA 1966)…true test of a court’s monetary jurisdiction depends upon the amount claimed and put in controversy in good [*927] faith. Tantillo v. Miliman, Fla.1956, 87 So. 2d 413; Gannett v. King, Fla.App. 1959, 108 So. 2d 299; Amira v. Vineberg, Fla.App. 1962, 144 So. 2d 94; Meltsner v. Aetna Casualty & Insurance Co., supra. Thus, if court or counsel question the monetary jurisdiction and it appears that the amount claimed in good faith is without the jurisdiction of the court, the case could be merely transferred to t…
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Complete Auto & Fleet Serv., Inc. v. Dresser Leasing Corp., 525 So. 2d 493 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988)…PER CURIAM. Affirmed. Rocco v. Coffey, 163 So. 2d 21 (Fla. 2d DCA 1964); Amira v. Vineberg, 144 So. 2d 94 (Fla. 3d DCA 1962).…
Authorities Cited
- Richter Jewelry Co., Inc. v. Mrs. Clara Harrison, 147 Fla. 732 (Fla. 1941)
- Curley v. Miami Transit Co., Inc., 141 So. 2d 299 (Fla. 3d DCA 1962)