How Much Are You Suing For?
While it is not “new” news since it has been pending for quite some time now, changes will be implemented to the Ontario courts effective January 1, 2010 that you should know about.
Many of the changes are purely procedural in nature and cover matters such as how long examinations for discovery should last and new considerations by judges on summary judgment motions. It’s of interest to me but far less thrilling for a small business owner. That said, there are changes to the monetary jurisdictions that will be of interest.
Perhaps the most important change is the increase to the monetary jurisdiction of the Small Claims Court. On January 1 it will go from its current $10,000 to $25,000. In the past, if you were owed, say, $15,000 and wanted to sue to collect payment you had the choice of either suing in the Superior Court under its “simplified procedure” regime or else waiving the $5,000 and suing only for $10,000 in Small Claims Court. On Jan 1 there will be no choice as you will be heading for Small Claims Court so long as the claim is $25,000 or less. So, you will now have to make decisions like this for claims of, say, $30,000.
And I will take this opportunity to provide you with a link to the court’s page that provides a whole whack of information on going to Small Claims Court and what to do, when and how. Even if you decide that you want to have a lawyer (and in Small Claims Court you do not have to have one), it is always best to take a look and get the background information so that you spend less time talking with your lawyer about the basics.
At the present time, lawsuits between $10,001 and $50,000 go to the Superior Court of Justice but are governed by its “simplified procedure”. As its name implies, this is a regular lawsuit but with less of the normal steps. Most importantly, up to December 31, 2009, there are no examinations for discovery permitted in simplified procedure cases. This has had its benefits and problems and the result is that a compromise has been reached in which limited (we’re talking only a few hours) examinations for discovery will now be allowed. The biggest change, though, is that simplified procedure will govern cases from $25,001 to $100,000 as of January 1.
And then, finally, the full-blown “regular” procedure will now only apply for claims over $100,000.
These changes will be beneficial for small businesses. Generally, if you have a claim for more than $100,000, we’re probably looking at a problem that has significantly affected the business (and could even threaten its existence). Fortunately, these types of disputes do not occur frequently. More commonly are claims under $100,000 and small businesses will benefit from the more streamlined rules found in both Small Claims Court and under the simplified procedure. As I’ve said before, litigation is often neither cheap nor quick and anything which can reduce costs and time delays is to be welcomed.
CALC