New York Civil Court Information, Location and Jurisdiction

Court cases in New York, as in any other parts of the United States of America, are divided into two categories. These are respectively civil cases and criminal cases. The Unified Court System of New York clearly decrees that the two types of cases should be settled by separate designated wings of courts in the state. Our prime focus of discussion here will be the system of civil courts in New York.

Civil courts can be, broadly speaking, in charge of cases that involve monetary transactions. Here, a distinction among the court types can be made. For settling lawsuits that involve relatively small amounts of money, a separate division of the New York civil court system has been established, and this is the small claims court.

What You Need to Know About the Civil Courts of New York

In the State of New York, the civil courts are among the busiest in the state. Here, cases involving monetary transactions of up to $25,000 are heard and resolved. Of course, the civil courts also look into such matters that are referred to it by the Supreme Court of New York.

On the other hand, the small claims division of the civil courts of New York has the judicial authority to deal with cases and claims of not more than $5,000. in addition to this, disputes between landlords and tenants, as well as violations of housing rights are looked into by this wing of the civil courts of New York. 

Types of Civil Courts

On a more specific basis, the civil court structure in the State of New York has the following three components:

•    General civil courts
•    Housing courts
•    Courts for small claims

New York Civil Courts: Where Can You Find Them?

In New York, civil courts are present in seven different counties. Here are the precise locations of these civil courts of New York:

•    In Harlem County: 170 East 121st Street, Harlem
•    In Queens County: 89 – 17 Sutphin Boulevard (on the 89th Avenue)
•    In Redhook Community: 88 Visitation Place, Brooklyn, NY 11231
•    In Richmond Community: 927 Castleton Avenue (on the corner of Bement Avenue)
•    In New York County: 111 Centre Street (or, 75 Lafayette Street), between Franklin Street and White Street
•    In Kings County: 141 Livingston Street (located at the corner of Smith Street)
•    In Bronx County: a) Housing Court: at 1118 Grand Concourse ( on 166th Street) and at b) General Civil Court: at 851 Grand Concourse, Bronx, NY 10451

Legal Parties in the Civil Courts

There are several different personnel who are involved in any legal proceedings in a civil court of New York. These include the attorneys, the jurors, the judges, and of course the contesting parties (litigants).