Provincial Court Small Claims Handbook

 Everything you need to know to appear in Small Claims Court

This publication is essential for: all litigators appearing in Small Claims Court.

Current to: November 1, 2015

Price: $269; $225 when purchased together with Small Claims Act and Rules—Annotated

CLEBC’s Provincial Court Small Claims Handbook is a comprehensive guide to proceedings under the British Columbia Small Claims Act. The Handbook focuses on practice and procedure. The latest version includes statutory changes, new case law, new and revised forms and precedents, and updated versions of the case table, statute table, references, and index. Online users of the Handbook can access cases and legislation, downloadable forms and precedents, and full-text searching.

This resource will help you:

• Make informed decisions on jurisdiction
• Draft the pleadings with all of the right information
• Prepare and defend confidently pre-trial applications
• Conduct a trial effectively
• Bring an appeal

Online access conveniently places this resource at your fingertips and is fully searchable with links to full-text cases and legislation and to government website forms and precedents.

Highlights of the 2015 Update:

• the termination of the Rule 7.2 Court Mediation Program as of October 31, 2015 (B.C. Reg. 135/2015)
• the future termination, on May 1, 2016, of the Rule 7.4 Court Mediation Program (B.C. Reg. 244/2015)
• revisions to the Civil Resolution Tribunal Act, S.B.C. 2012, c. 25, in the Civil Resolution Tribunal Amendment Act, 2015, S.B.C. 2015, c. 16; the legislation, much of which is not yet in force, establishes the Civil Resolution Tribunal, which is designed to deal primarily with small claims and strata property disputes; it is scheduled to commence operations in 2016
• summarizes the instances where cases have been summarily resolved before trial, under either Rule 7(14) or Rule 16(6)(o)
• continues to clarify where penalty awards under Rule 20(5) are appropriate
• held that the Provincial Court is competent to decide the constitutionality of a law upon which a proceeding is based, provided the decision is not rendered as a general declaration

 
CLEBC Legal Editor
L. Joy Tataryn
jtataryn@cle.bc.ca