Available Remedies:

Question:Can a Small Claims Court judge order an injunction or make a declaration in Ontario?

Answer:The Small Claims Court’s limited jurisdiction means it can order only compensatory remedies tied to the payment of money or the return of personal property, and it cannot grant injunctive relief (to force someone to do or stop doing something) or declarative relief (a binding opinion on rights), so your claim must fit within the court’s monetary and remedy limits under Courts of Justice Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C-43 and Small Claims Court Jurisdiction, O. Reg. 626/00.   If you’re unsure whether your situation calls for money damages or returning property instead of an order to stop conduct, a paralegal from DK Legal Practice can help you frame the proper remedy for Ontario Small Claims Court, call (416) 906-6663.

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What Power Does the Small Claims Court Hold?

The Small Claims Court Is Unable to Grant Requests For An Injunction or Requests For Declarations. The Small Claims Court Is Empowered Only to Grant Various Forms of Compensatory Relief.

Note: Please contact DK Legal Practice by phone at: (416) 906-6663 to discuss any specific questions that you may have.

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 Small Claims Court is a court of limited jurisdiction with restrictions upon the court, and thus restrictions upon the judges sitting within the Small Claims Court, to grant certain remedies.  Specifically, the Small Claims Court is limited to the granting the remedies prescribed by 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 for which each respectively 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 is limited in the power to grant remedies. The Small Claims Court is empowered to grant remedies involving the payment of money or the return of property only.  The Small Claims Court is limited to a certain monetary jurisdiction, meaning the sum of money or value of property involved. Currently, the limit is a maximum of $35,000 per party.