Concurrent Jurisdiction

(4) rules committee summaries circulated to members of the Alaska Bar Association or other persons for comment, and any comments received; (5) referral memoranda presented to the supreme court by the court rules attorney, along with any supporting materials and proposed orders; and (6) final supreme court orders adopted in response to rule change proposals. to that the Rules of Court, except (g) Standing Rules Committees. The chief justice shall establish standing rules committees to review proposals for amendments the administrative director shall review proposals to amend the Administrative Rules. All committees shall receive major rules change proposals from the rules attorney or the supreme court. In addition, the rules committees shall carry on a continuous study of the operation and effect of the rules of procedure and rules committees shall periodically administration. The recommend rules changes to the supreme court if the changes promote: 1) simplicity in administration; 3) the just determination of litigation; and 4) the elimination of unjustifiable expense and delay. in procedure; 2) fairness (h) Appointment. The chief justice shall appoint members of the judiciary, Alaska Bar Association, and other qualified persons to serve on the rules committees. Nominees shall be considered from any source, but solicitation for nominee recommendations shall also be made to the board of governors of the state bar association and the statewide court clerks conference. Where possible, terms of the committee members will be staggered to preserve committee continuity. the committees shall serve without The members of compensation. However, with prior approval, the members may be reimbursed for per diem and travel expenses incident to their duties as members of the committees. (i) Expedited Rule Action. Whenever the supreme court determines that the immediate promulgation of a procedural or administrative rule is necessary, the court may take any action required by the circumstances. The court shall follow all of the requirements of this rule consistent with meeting the nature of the particular circumstances. (j) Effective Date. The effective date for each rule change order shall be stated in the order. Normally, the effective date shall be the same as the publisher’s distribution date, in order to provide adequate notice to those affected by the rule change. Where this is not practical, the effective date shall be set as determined by the supreme court. When this occurs, the supreme court shall determine what additional (a) Mandatory Filing. A civil action that falls within the concurrent jurisdiction of the superior court and the district court shall be filed in the district court (except for a petition for injunctive relief under AS 25.35.010 or 25.35.020). (b) Amount in Controversy. The amount in controversy is first determined by reference to the plaintiff’s complaint. Jurisdiction is established by the pleading of claims as they appear at the time of filing of the complaint or other claim. Claims must be pled in good faith. Interest due at the time of filing may be included in the claimed amount. Properly joined claims may be aggregated. When a compulsory counterclaim is filed in an action in excess of district court jurisdiction, the district court judge shall order referral of the case to the superior court. When a permissive counterclaim is filed in an action in excess of district court jurisdiction, the district court judge shall either order referral of the case to the superior court or order severance of the claim to be proceeded with separately. (c) Transfer by District Court. When it appears from the pleadings that the amount claimed for recovery exceeds $100,000 exclusive of costs, post-filing interest, and attorney’s fees, then the district court judge shall upon motion or the court’s own motion refer the case to the superior court. (d) Transfer or Retention by Superior Court. When it appears from the pleadings, filed documents, or any pretrial evidence taken in the case that the amount claimed for recovery does not exceed $100,000 exclusive of costs, post- filing interest, and attorney’s fees, then upon motion or the court’s own motion the superior court judge shall order transfer of the case to the district court or retain the case and sit as a district court judge pro tem. A specific assignment of the judge to the district court is not required under these circumstances. (e) Criminal Cases Unaffected. Neither AS 22.10.020(a) nor the subsections of this rule apply to criminal cases. (Adopted by SCO 659 effective March 15, 1986; amended by SCO 893 effective July 15, 1988; by SCO 1054 effective January 15, 1991; and by SCO 1573 effective nunc pro tunc to September 14, 2004)