Difference between revisions of "Causes of Action (20:App G)"

{{REVIEWED LSLAP | date= August 6, 2021}}

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 $35,000 or it states otherwise in the list. They are organized into 3 categories: (1) common; (2) rare; and (3) see a lawyer.  

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.  

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 the termination of an employee. The fact that no written employment contract was signed does not disqualify an employee or former employee from claiming for breach of these terms. This is because an employee who is an "employee" under employment standards legislation will be entitled to the benefit of the statutory minimum notice provisions [https://www.canlii.org/en/bc/bcsc/doc/1989/1989canlii2778/1989canlii2778.html?searchUrlHash=AAAAAQBVU3VsZW1hbiB2LiBCcml0aXNoIENvbHVtYmlhIFJlc2VhcmNoIENvdW5jaWwgKDE5ODkpLCAzOCBCLkMuTC5SLiAoMmQpIDIwOCAoQi5DLiBTLkMuKQAAAAAB&resultIndex=1|''Suleman v. British Columbia Research Council'' (1989), 38 B.C.L.R. (2d) 208 (B.C. S.C.)]; reversed on other grounds [https://www.canlii.org/en/bc/bcca/doc/1990/1990canlii746/1990canlii746.html|(1990), 52 B.C.L.R. (2d) 138 (B.C. C.A.)]. See '''Chapter 9: Employment Law''' for more details.

*Most disputes between strata lot owners and strata corporations, except for recovery of maintenance fees against a strata lot owner (''Strata Plan LMS2064 v Biamonte'', [1999] BCJ No 1267).