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CIVIL COURTS IN ONTARIO CANADA
Ontario Superior Court of Justice
The Ontario Superior Court of Justice is a court of general
jurisdiction where most civil litigation is conducted, in
accordance with rules of procedure which are for the most
part generally applicable to all kinds of disputes. However,
within the Superior Court are various branches or procedural
regimes which may lend themselves, sometimes on a voluntary
and sometimes on a compulsory basis, to particular kinds
of disputes.
Small Claims Court
The Small Claims Court is a court dedicated to claims of
limited monetary value (currently up to $10,000.00). It's
procedures are intended to be flexible and simple, so that
people involved in small disputes can have access to the
court without necessarily requiring the assistance of lawyers
to do so. Nonetheless, in some cases you may wish to have
the assistance of a lawyer or articling student even in
Small Claims Court. Even when amounts at issue are comparatively
small, the legal issues associated with them can still be
complex. It is often prudent to speak to a lawyer about
a Small Claims proceeding first, even if you decide to pursue
it on your own afterward.
Simplified Procedure
For cases involving more than the Small Claims Court jurisdiction
allows but less than $50,000.00, there is a Simplified Procedure
that usually applies. It is more complex and less flexible
than the procedure used in Small Claims Court, but is nonetheless
intended to permit a (relatively) small case to be taken
through to completion at reasonable expense. Therefore,
Simplified Procedure is designed to be less extensive than
normal procedure. This can be a good thing or a bad thing,
depending upon the nature of the case.
Commercial List - Toronto
In Toronto, the Court operates a "Commercial List" which
typically involves streamlined procedure and active case
management by judges in matters of Bankruptcy and Insolvency
as well as other specific kinds of commercial disputes that
are delineated by the Court. It is often the preferred venue
for resolution of disputes that need to be dealt with expeditiously
in order to permit business needs to be met.
Family Court
The Family Court is a branch of the Ontario Superior Court
of Justice that has particular jurisdiction over specified
family related litigation in certain areas in which it operates.
Class Proceedings
Class Proceedings are available in the province of Ontario,
and are heard in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.
Federal Court
of Canada
The Federal Court is a statutory court operating throughout
Canada within specified areas of federal jurisdiction. In
some cases the Federal Court's jurisdiction is exclusive;
in others it is concurrent, meaning that a dispute of a
particular nature could be taken either to the Federal Court
or to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.
The Federal Court has its own rules of procedure. Typically,
in civil cases, disputes will be brought to the Federal
Court either because there is no other choice, because the
subject matter is an area where the Court is seen to have
particular expertise, or because the nature of the dispute
involves more than one Canadian province geographically.
Since the Federal Court is a Canadian Court and not the
court of a particular province, it's orders are immediately
enforceable anywhere in Canada.
Most commonly, civil proceedings brought in Federal Court
involve either: (a) lawsuits involving the "Crown" that
is, the government of Canada, (b) appeals or judicial reviews
of the decisions of federal boards, commissions or tribunals,
(c) maritime law, or (d) intellectual property disputes.
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Lloyd's view: Which court or process you can
access, and which court or process you want to access,
when you have a choice, always depends upon the particular
kind of problem you have. However, recognizing that
you may have options (and there may be others not
canvassed here), each with its own advantages and
disadvantages, is the first step to decision making
about resolving a dispute in court - a key element
of intelligent litigating.
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