Art. 4.Same; Determination When Dependent On Amount In Dispute Or Value of Right Asserted

When jurisdiction turns on a dollar figure, someone has to decide whose figure counts. Article 4 answers that: the plaintiff's demand controls, whether that's the specific amount claimed or, when no clean number applies, the value the plaintiff asserts in good faith for the right at stake.

The article also draws a line around what counts toward that figure. Interest, court costs, attorney fees, and penalties — whether they come from an agreement between the parties or from a statute — never count toward the jurisdictional amount, even when they add up to real money. Only the underlying demand does, along with certain exemplary damages the Civil Code allows in a narrow set of cases.

Good faith matters here. A plaintiff cannot inflate a claim to reach a higher court's docket, or deflate one to fit inside a limited-jurisdiction court, without a genuine basis for the number. The requirement protects the line Article 2 draws between courts of different reach.