Available Remedies:

Question: Can Askew Paralegal Services help me get an injunction in Small Claims Court in Ontario, or is that power limited?

Answer:   In Ontario, the Small Claims Court generally does not have the power to grant an injunction (an order to make someone do something or stop doing something) or to provide a declaration, because its jurisdiction is limited to compensatory remedies such as actions for the payment of money and for recovery of possession of personal property up to the prescribed limits, including claims under Courts of Justice Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C-43 and Small Claims Court Jurisdiction, O. Reg. 626/00. If you need an order to stop or restrain conduct, Askew Paralegal Services (paralegal services) can help you assess whether Small Claims Court is the right forum, estimate the value of money or property remedies you can claim instead, and guide you toward faster next steps in Ontario; call (289) 439-4740 for a free half-hour consultation and get help from a Paralegal serving clients across Ontario, including surrounding communities.

Does the Small Claims Court Have the Power to Grant An Injunction?

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.

Understanding the Powers of the Small Claims Court Involving the Restriction to Handling Compensatory Relief Matters

The Small Claims Court is limited powers division of the Superior Court of Justice rather than a separate and independent forum, within which judges are restricted to granting only certain forms of remedy; and accordingly, parties in Small Claims Court proceedings must seek only the remedies that fall within the jurisdiction of judges sitting in the Small Claims Court.

The Law

The limited jurisdiction of the Small Claims Court imposes restrictions upon the remedies that are available. Specifically, 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, limit the powers of a judge in the Small Claims Court whereas the statute and the regulation respective 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 holds limited powers to grant remedies that may be sought.  The Small Claims Court is empowered to provide for the payment of money or to direct the return of property.  The Small Claims Court is also limited in monetary jurisdiction, being matters where the payment of money, or the return of property, relates to sums or values of $35,000 or less per party.