The Hawaii state district courts are a level of
state courts in
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...
.
In addition, the district courts have jurisdiction over:
*
Civil cases with an
amount in controversy
Amount in controversy (sometimes called jurisdictional amount) is a term used in civil procedure to denote the amount at stake in a lawsuit, in particular in connection with a requirement that persons seeking to bring a lawsuit in a particular cou ...
not in excess of $25,000 or where the
relief
Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...
sought is
specific performance
Specific performance is an equitable remedy in the law of contract, in which a court issues an order requiring a party to perform a specific act, such as to complete performance of a contract. It is typically available in the sale of land law, b ...
valued under $25,000. The district courts have
exclusive jurisdiction
Exclusive jurisdiction exists in civil procedure if one court has the power to adjudicate a case to the exclusion of all other courts. The opposite situation is concurrent jurisdiction (or non-exclusive jurisdiction) in which more than one cour ...
where the amount in controversy or relief sought is under $10,000 and
small-claims cases where the amount claimed does not exceed $3,500.
*Exclusive jurisdiction over
traffic infractions and most
Landlord–tenant disputes, including
summary possession/ejection (eviction) cases regardless of the amount of the claim
*
Misdemeanor
A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than admi ...
criminal offenses punishable by
fine
Fine may refer to:
Characters
* Fran Fine, the title character of ''The Nanny''
* Sylvia Fine (''The Nanny''), Fran's mother on ''The Nanny''
* Officer Fine, a character in ''Tales from the Crypt'', played by Vincent Spano
Legal terms
* Fine (p ...
or by
imprisonment
Imprisonment or incarceration is the restraint of a person's liberty for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is considered " false imprisonment". Impri ...
not in excess of one year
*Cases arising from the violations of a county ordinance.
*
Petition
A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication.
In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to an officia ...
s for
restraining orders for relief from and for
injunction
An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a special court order compelling a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. It was developed by the English courts of equity but its origins go back to Roman law and the equitable rem ...
s against
harassment
Harassment covers a wide range of behaviors of an offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behavior that demeans, humiliates, and intimidates a person, and it is characteristically identified by its unlikelihood in terms of social and ...
The Hawai'i State Small Claims court is a division of the district courts. Its primary purview is civil cases in which the amount in controversy is $3,500 or less. If the party being sued counterclaims against the plaintiff bringing the suit, the small claims court will still retain jurisdiction if the counterclaim is $25,000 or less.
The small claims court also has jurisdiction over all returns of residential security deposits from landlords, regardless of amount; returns of leased or rented personal property, where the property is worth $3,500 or less and where the rental amount claimed does not exceed $3,500; and suits to recover damages or repossess items stolen from business property, such as shopping carts, shopping baskets, or other similar devices.
The advantage of the small claims process is that it is informal. However, a disadvantage is that the decision of the judge is final and there is no right to
appeal
In law, an appeal is the process in which Legal case, cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of cla ...
.
See also
*
Courts of Hawaii
External links
Official websiteSmall Claims website
Hawaii state courts
Courts and tribunals with year of establishment missing
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