Difference between revisions of "Choosing the Proper Forum for Small Claims (20:IV)"

The Civil Resolution Tribunal is designed to be an alternative to Small Claims Court. It is anticipated that the tribunal will begin operations some time in 2015. In June 2014, regulations were enacted that allowed for the appointment of tribunal members and other staff30 As of May 11th, 2015, 18 tribunal members had been selected31.  

As of May 14th, 2015, the ''Civil Resolution Tribunal Amendment Act'' (CRTAA)32  has been passed by the legislature and received royal assent.   Although the regulations have not yet been enacted, the CRTA and CRTAA set out the general process and jurisdiction.  

The tribunal classifies claims as “Small Claims Matters”, “Strata Property Matters”, or “Other Matters”. These classifications are set out in the Schedule to the  CRTA and may be further clarified by regulation.  

The tribunal’s jurisdiction is similar to that of the Small Claims Court, except that the tribunal cannot hear matters for or against the government, or any matters that may be specified in future regulations33.   The monetary limit may also be different once it is set by regulation. If, however, a claim can be dealt with under either s 6 or s 7 of the Schedule, it must be brought as a strata property matter rather than a small claims matter.  

*the interpretation or application of the ''Strata  Property Act'' or a regulation, bylaw, or rule under that Act;  

*money owing, including money owing as a fine, under the ''Strata Property Act'' or a regulation, bylaw or rule under that Act;

*an action or threatened action by the strata corporation, including the council, in relation to an owner or tenant;  

*the exercise of voting rights by a person who holds 50% or more of the votes, including proxies, at an annual or special general meeting.  

The foregoing list contains a number of limitations.  A person considering tribunal resolution of a claim listed above should review s 3.6 (2) of the CRTAA to ensure that a limitation does not deny jurisdiction to the tribunal.  

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.

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:  

*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.  

Tribunal orders relating to strata property matters are enforceable as an order of the court.