Singer

Introduction

This mandate proceeding challenges the superior court’s order transferring a lawsuit to the municipal court. We find the contested order was an abuse of discretion and therefore grant the requested relief. We have certified this opinion for publication because with increasing frequency the trial courts seem overly inclined to use transfer orders as a calendar management device. By publishing this opinion, we reiterate the precedent established in Walker v. Superior Court (1991) 53 Cal.3d 257 [ 279 Cal.Rptr. 576 , 807 P.2d 418 ]. In ruling upon a request to transfer a civil action to the municipal court, the superior court is not permitted to try the merits of the action. Instead, the superior court is limited to determining whether the action will necessarily result in a verdict below its jurisdictional amount. The determination that it is merely unlikely or not reasonably probable that an award will meet the superior court’s jurisdictional requirement is an insufficient basis upon which to transfer a case to the municipal court.

Factual and Procedural Background

This is a personal injury and wrongful discharge action. The operative pleading, the first…