Causes of Action (20:App G)
Causes of Action
The cause of action is the claimant’s reason for bringing a suit against the defendant. While there must always be a cause of action, in Small Claims it is generally sufficient to cite the facts; Small Claims judges will take a liberal view of pleadings and allow litigants to assert claims in non-legalistic language. However, the judge must still be able to find a cause of action in the facts the claimant alleges. Potential claimants should therefore review the following, non-exhaustive list of causes of action to determine if they have a valid claim. Claimants may claim for more than one cause of action on a notice of claim and are advised to do so if they believe more than one cause of action applies or are not sure which one is valid; it is easier to name superfluous causes of action on the notice of claim than to get the claim amended after filing it. The following causes of action may be brought in Small Claims unless the amount claimed is over $25 000 or it states otherwise in the list. They are organized into 3 categories: 1) common; 2) rare; 3) see a lawyer
Defences
For each cause of action there are usually a number of possible defences. Both Claimants and Defendants should be aware of the defences. Below are defences to some of the more common causes of action.
1) Common causes of action
- Breach of Contract – Contract law governs voluntary relationships between parties. It is a complicated and nuanced area of the law . To bring a claim for breach of contract, a party must demonstrate that the other party failed to perform a contractual obligation. Depending on the type of term that is breached, the other party may be able to “terminate” the contract. Termination. Terms that go to the heart of a contract are usually called “conditions”. Breach of a condition by one party entitles the other party to terminate the contract and end their obligations. Less important terms are called “warranties”. Breach of a warranty does not give the other party a right to terminate. However, the party not in breach can still sue the other party for breach of contract.
- Defences:
- No consideration: In order for a promise or any other contractual obligation to be enforceable by courts, there must be consideration. Consideration is what is given in exchange for a promise that makes the promise binding. If there is no consideration for a promise, the promise will not be enforced by the courts, even if the parties have an otherwise valid contract.
- Void contract: A contract can be void and therefore unenforceable for several reasons, including lack of mental capacity, uncertainty of terms, illegality.
- Unconscionability: A contract is said to be unconscionable and therefore unenforceable where the circumstances surrounding the creation of the contract gave rise to a grave inequality in bargaining power between parties. This is complicated area of contract law, and legal advice should be sought.
- Misrepresentation: If the other party made a statement to you before the contract came into existence that you relied on in entering the contract and that turned out to be false, you may be able to have the contract set aside.
- Frustration: frustration occurs when an unforeseen event renders contractual obligations impossible or radically changes the primary purpose of the contract. Frustration is also another complicated area in contract law. Legal advice should be sought.
- Breach of Employment Contract (implied terms) – The courts cannot enforce statutory rights such as those found in the Employment Standards Act, as special adjudicative bodies have been created to rule on these types of claims and have exclusive jurisdiction over them. However, many parallel rights exist at common law and may be enforced by the courts. At common law, employment contracts contain numerous implied terms that are actionable through Small Claims, such as the requirement to give reasonable notice or payment in lieu upon termination of an employee. The fact that no written