§ 88.“Unlimited civil case”

Title 1. Organization and Jurisdiction · Chapter 5.1. Limited Civil Cases · Article 1. Jurisdiction in Limited Civil Cases · Enacted 1999 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026

In one sentenceSection 88 defines an “unlimited civil case” as any civil case that is not a limited civil case, giving the broader category of superior court litigation a name that pairs with the term “limited civil case” defined elsewhere in this chapter.

Full Text of § 88

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A civil action or proceeding other than a limited civil case may be referred to as an unlimited civil case.

Plain-English Summary

Once § 85 and § 86 define what makes a case “limited,” the Legislature needed a word for everything else. Section 88 supplies it: an unlimited civil case is any civil case that isn’t a limited civil case.

The term matters because so much of civil procedure — filing fees, discovery limits, pleading requirements, appeal routes — depends on which of the two tracks a case sits on. Calling the non-limited track “unlimited” makes it possible to write statutes and rules that apply to one track, the other, or both, without describing the entire superior court caseload every time.

A small claims case is a type of limited civil case, not an unlimited one, even though it’s heard in a special division with its own procedures.

Official Comment

The following official comments are published by the California Law Revision Commission (and, for a few older sections, its predecessor Code Commissioners) alongside the statute itself — not commentary from this site.

1999 Law Revision Commission Comment. Section 88 is added to provide a convenient means of referring to a civil case other than a limited civil case. The new term (“unlimited civil case”) reflects the broad jurisdiction of the superior court. Cal. Const. art. VI, § 10. A small claims case is a type of limited civil case, not an unlimited civil case. See Sections 85 & 87 & Comments.

Frequently Asked Questions

What makes a case an “unlimited civil case” in California?

Section 88 defines it by exclusion: any civil case that doesn’t qualify as a limited civil case under § 85 and § 86 is an unlimited civil case.

Is a small claims case an unlimited civil case?

No. A small claims case is a limited civil case, not an unlimited one, even though it has its own dedicated procedures.

Amendment History

Added Stats 1999 ch 344 § 4 (SB 210), effective September 7, 1999.

Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature. Last verified July 28, 2026. · Official source

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