Defendant’s Motion for Reclassification, filed on 1/23/19, is GRANTED. Defendant has met its burden of establishing that “the matter will ‘necessarily’ result in a verdict below the superior court jurisdictional amount.” Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 403.040(b); Walker v. Superior Court, (1991) 53 Cal. 3d 257, 262. Defendant is ordered to pay the transfer fee within fifteen (15) days.

The court can transfer to limited jurisdiction if “it becomes clear that the matter will ‘necessarily’ result in a verdict below the superior court jurisdictional amount.” Walker v. Superior Court (1991) 53 Cal. 3d 257, 262. The standard requires a high level of certainty that the damage award will not exceed $25,000. Maldonado v. Superior Court (1996) 45 Cal. App. 4th 397, 401; Singer v. Superior Court (1999) 70 Cal. App. 4th 1315, 1320.

Defendant has not established a “high level of certainty” that the damage award will not exceed $25,000 given the injuries sustained and based on the minimal amount of damage