Available Remedies: Within Small Claims Court Cases

Question: What is the limited jurisdiction of the Small Claims Court in Ontario?

Answer: The Small Claims Court in Ontario can only award monetary compensation or direct the return of property valued up to $35,000. It cannot grant injunctions or declarations, as its jurisdiction, as defined by the Courts of Justice Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C-43 and Small Claims Court Jurisdiction, O. Reg. 626/00, is confined to compensatory relief. Discover more about navigating Small Claims Court limitations with the guidance of Bulat Paralegal Service.

Does the Small Claims Court Have the Power to Order Specific Conduct?

The Power of the Small Claims Court Is Limited to Compensatory Issues Involving the Payment of Money or Return of Property. The Small Claims Court Is Unable to Order An Injunction or to Provide a Declaration.

Understanding the Powers of the Small Claims Court Involving the Restriction to Handling Compensatory Relief Matters

Although the Small Claims Court is a division within the Superior Court of Justice, the Small Claims Court is a forum within which the judges, and usually deputy judges, are prescribed with limited powers; and accordingly, parties to Small Claims Court proceedings must restrict the remedies sought from the court to only those remedies falling within the Small Claims Court jurisdiction.

The Law

The limited jurisdiction of the Small Claims Court imposes restrictions upon the remedies that are available. Specifically, the Courts of Justice Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C-43, as well as the Small Claims Court Jurisdiction, O.Reg. 626/00, regulation, limit the powers of a judge in the Small Claims Court whereas the statute and the regulation respective state:

As shown, the Small Claims Court is empowered only to grant a monetary award up to $35,000.00 as well as to order the return of property valued up to $35,000; and accordingly, the Small Claims Court is unable to provide remedies known as injunctive relief, meaning a directive that someone do something or that someone stop doing something, or declarative relief, meaning an opinion on a legal rights question.  For cases proceeding within the Small Claims Court, the issues must strictly be kept to compensatory relief issues involving the payment of money or the return of property.

Whereas the Small Claims Court is limited the powers above, only certain remedies may be claimed.  The remedies that may be claimed include, among possible others:

• Claims for actual damages, also known as special damages, being monetary compensation for precisely accountable losses suffered;
• Claims for general damages, sometimes referred to as non-pecuniary damages, being monetary compensation that is imprecise and incapable of exact calculation such as awards for pain and suffering;
• Claims for punitive damages, also known as exemplary damages, as a form of punishment intended by the court to show disdain for malicious and egregious conduct;
• Claims for rescission which involves putting parties back into the same financial position that existed prior to dealings between the parties where such includes ordering the return of property or the return of money or both; and
• Claims for disgorgement which involve the stripping of ill-gotten gains such as benefits or profits from a wrongdoer and payment of such ill-gotten gains to the victim of the wrongdoing.

Conclusion

The Small Claims Court holds limited powers to grant remedies that may be sought.  The Small Claims Court is empowered to provide for the payment of money or to direct the return of property.  The Small Claims Court is also limited in monetary jurisdiction, being matters where the payment of money, or the return of property, relates to sums or values of $35,000 or less per party.