(1) Except as provided in subsection (6) of this section, each circuit court shall have a small claims department.
(2) Except as provided in this section, all actions for the recovery of money, damages, specific personal property, or any penalty or forfeiture must be commenced and prosecuted in the small claims department if the amount or value claimed in the action does not exceed $750.
(3) Except as provided in this section and ORS 46.455 (2)(c), an action for the recovery of money, damages, specific personal property, or any penalty or forfeiture may be commenced and prosecuted in the small claims department if the amount or value claimed in the action does not exceed $7,500.
(4) Class actions may not be commenced and prosecuted in the small claims department.
(5) Actions providing for statutory attorney fees in which the amount or value claimed does not exceed $750 may be commenced and prosecuted in the small claims department or may be commenced and prosecuted in the regular department of the circuit court. This subsection does not apply to an action based on contract for which attorney fees are authorized under ORS 20.082.
(6) If a circuit court is located in the same city as a justice court, the circuit court need not have a small claims department if the circuit court and the justice court enter into an intergovernmental agreement that provides that only the justice court will operate a small claims department. If an intergovernmental agreement is entered into under this subsection, the agreement must establish appropriate procedures for referring small claims cases to the justice court. [1971 c.760 §2; 1973 c.812 §2; 1975 c.592 §1; 1979 c.567 §1; 1983 c.242 §1; 1985 c.367 §1; 1987 c.725 §1; 1995 c.227 §1; 1995 c.658 §43; 1997 c.378 §1; amendments by 1997 c.378 §2 repealed by 1999 c.84 §9; 1997 c.801 §78; 1999 c.84 §1; 1999 c.673 §1; 2001 c.542 §5; 2007 c.125 §1]
Note: Section 8, chapter 125, Oregon Laws 2007, provides:
Sec. 8. The amendments to ORS 46.405, 46.425, 46.461, 51.080, 55.011, 55.095 and 133.055 by sections 1 to 7 of this 2007 Act apply to all actions commenced in the small claims department of a court on or after the effective date of this 2007 Act [January 1, 2008], without regard to whether the claim for which the action is commenced arose before, on or after the effective date of this 2007 Act. [2007 c.125 §8]
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