If a case is dismissed with prejudice in one court because of lack of jurisdiction, can it be refiled in a different (and correct) court?
If it’s dismissed because the court lacks jurisdiction, it can then be filed in the correct court, but, in that case (no pun intended), it would not have been dismissed with prejudice.
Of course it is possible that time limits have kicked in, so that all that faffing about in the wrong court while the clock was ticking meant you were out of time by the time the right court was identified.
true, but courts often have the discretion to extend a limitation period if there’s no prejudice to the other side, and if there’s been full notice to the other side here, of the original action in small claims, I would think there would be a very good argument for an extension of time.
Yes. I hear small claims cases very often (although not often cases which had been dismissed by other courts). I tend to be pretty lenient about deadlines, unless someone has missed several deadlines previously or is just messing with the other party.
S/L is an affirmative defense. If the small claims court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case, it also lacked jurisdiction to hear an affirmative defense. If the S/L had lapsed, that would not preclude filing in the proper court. That defense would have to be brought up there.