Relates to expanding the available jurisdiction for issuing information subpoenas

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why the sponsor says this is needed

Under section 1201 of the various court acts, information subpoenas sought by small claims court judgment creditors can only be served in the county where the litigation took place or an adjoining county, except upon motion. This requirement adds to the burdens of judgment creditors trying to locate a judgment debtor's assets. In many instances, judgment debtors will take evasive action to move their assets to avoid detection. Accordingly, it is important for judgment creditors to proceed as efficiently and swiftly as possible to gain information useful in the collection process. This bill amends the relevant court acts to have court personnel to issue information subpoenas on behalf of Small Claims judgment creditors effective beyond the jurisdictional boundaries and adjoining counties as limited by section 1201 of the court acts. As judgment creditors in Small Claims are largely pro se litigants who are attempting the diffi- cult process of locating assets without the assistance of an attorney, they should be permitted to direct information subpoenas to parties they believe may have information useful to identifying the judgment credi- tor's assets regardless of location within the United States. This would eliminate the need to make a motion to serve an information subpoena outside the county where the court is located and counties adjoining that county.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.