General Electric Capital Auto Financial Services, Inc. v. Appellate Division

This case concerns the jurisdiction of the appellate division of the superior court, following trial court unification, to hear a petition for writ of mandate arising out of enforcement proceedings in the small claims court. The clerk of the appellate division of the superior court rejected, for want of jurisdiction, a petition for writ of mandate challenging a postjudgment enforcement order of the small claims court, We conclude jurisdiction lies with the appellate division of the superior court to review a postjudgment enforcement order of a small claims court. The appellate division has jurisdiction to review a postjudgment order in a limited civil case. A small claims case is a limited civil case. The statute and rules applicable to limited civil cases apply to small claims cases unless a small claims statute or rule provides otherwise. Small claims statutes provide for the appeal of small claims court judgments in a trial de novo to the superior court, rather than to the appellate division. No small claims statutes provide for the review of postjudgment enforcement orders. Therefore, small claims enforcement orders are reviewed in the same manner as postjudgment…