Appeal from a judgment of the District Court of Suffolk County, Sixth District (Toni A. Bean, J.), entered December 14, 2004. The judgment, after a nonjury trial, awarded plaintiff the principal sum of $1,000.

Judgment reversed without costs and action dismissed.

In this small claims action involving a dispute over funds held in escrow, the record reveals that at the closing of the sale of plaintiff's house to defendant, it was agreed that the sum of $6,000 would be held in escrow to ensure that plaintiff, who was being allowed to remain in possession for up to 90 days after the closing, made certain repairs and timely vacated. In a prior small claims action involving a dispute over the same escrow funds, plaintiff recovered the sum of $5,000 from defendant, and that amount was released from escrow. The instant small claims action was commenced by plaintiff to recover the remaining sum of $1,000 still being held in escrow pursuant to the contract. At trial, defendant's counsel brought the issue of the multiplicity of actions to the court's attention without success. After trial, the court awarded judgment in favor of plaintiff in the principal sum of $1,000.

It is apparent that plaintiff commenced multiple actions which sought to recover the total sum of $6,000 because the entire sum exceeded the $5,000 monetary jurisdictional limit of the small claims court (see UDCA 1801). The monetary jurisdictional limit of the court cannot be circumvented in this manner. "A single cause of action may not be divided merely for the convenience of the plaintiff in seeking a forum" (2B Carmody-Wait 2d § 16:3, at 540; see Swiss [*2]Hamlet Homeowners Assoc., Inc. v Souza, ___ Misc 3d ___, 2006 NY Slip Op 26397 [App Term, 9th & 10th Jud Dists]; Dusenbury v Habisreitinger, 72 Misc 61 [App Term 1911]; see also 1 NY Jur 2d, Actions §§ 51-53, at 406-409). Since defendant's alleged breaches of the escrow provision were completed when plaintiff commenced the first small claims action, the instant cause of action is in fact part of an indivisible claim for $6,000 (see Swiss Hamlet Homeowners Assoc., Inc. v Souza, ___ Misc 3d ___, 2006 NY Slip Op 26397, supra; 1 NY Jur 2d, Actions § 53, at 409; 2B Carmody-Wait 2d § 16:10, at 546-547).
Because this amount exceeds the jurisdictional limit of the small claims court (UDCA 1801), the instant action should have been dismissed.

Angiolillo, J.P., McCabe and Tanenbaum, JJ., concur.
Decision Date: November 29, 2006