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Difference between revisions of "Choosing the Proper Forum for Small Claims (20:IV)"
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Choosing the Proper Forum for Small Claims (20:IV) (view source)
Revision as of 17:14, 4 July 2016
, 17:14, 4 July 2016→c) Other Matters
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The tribunal may, by regulation, be granted jurisdiction over other matters that cannot be classified as either a small claims matter or a strata property matter. | The tribunal may, by regulation, be granted jurisdiction over other matters that cannot be classified as either a small claims matter or a strata property matter. | ||
=== 2. Process === | |||
Using the tribunal to resolve a dispute will be mandatory. The tribunal is designed to be more informal, faster, and less expensive than Small Claims Court, and will be conducted primarily using the internet.Unlike Small Claims Court, the tribunal generally, with some exceptions, requires the parties to be self-represented; lawyers are generally not permitted. | |||
There is no guarantee, however, that tribunal adjudicators will be legally trained. For a tribunal small claim, if a party is unhappy with the tribunal decision, they will be able to file a notice of objection and bring the small claim as a claim in the Provincial Court34. A party who is dissatisfied with the ruling on a strata property matter can only seek limited judicial review in the Supreme Court of British Columbia. The standard of review is correctness unless the decision relates to: | |||
*findings of fact for which the finding must either be unreasonable or made without any evidence to support it; | |||
*discretionary decisions for which the decision must be arbitrary, made in bad faith, be based entirely or predominantly on irrelevant factors, or fail to comply with a statute; or | |||
*natural justice and procedural fairness which are considered with the tribunal’s mandate in mind. | |||
Resolving a dispute through the tribunal has up to three phases.See Appendix J for more details on the Tribunal’s procedures. | |||
=== 3. General === | |||
Once the tribunal has accepted the request for tribunal resolution, the limitation period is postponed until: | |||
*the tribunal notifies the parties of its refusal to facilitate the settlement of, resolve, or adjudicate the claim; | |||
*the date the tribunal certifies that case management is completed, unless the claim has been referred to a hearing under section 30; | |||
*the date a party files a notice of objection; or | |||
*the date the time for filing a notice of objection expires. | |||
A lawyer or another person cannot represent a party unless the party is a child or person with impaired capacity, the rules permit the party to be represented, or the tribunal, in the interests of justice and fairness, permits the party to be represented. | |||
Tribunal orders relating to strata property matters are enforceable as an order of the court. | |||
== D. Alternative Dispute Resolution == | |||
Alternative dispute resolution is useful because it is efficient, inexpensive, '''confidential''', informal, and flexible; the parties have control over the outcome. A trial, on the other hand, is formal, less flexible, and can be more expensive. With few exceptions, everything that is said in a courtroom or written in a filed document can be accessed by any member of the public. | |||
Parties who wish to preserve their relationship, avoid the stress of trial, keep the details of their dispute private, or resolve their dispute in months instead of more than a year should seriously consider alternative dispute resolution. | |||