News Articles

Small Claims Court

Two of the most common complaints with respect to our legal system would have to be the cost of pursuing a remedy through the courts and the time it takes to do so.  Alberta has recently taken a step to help address both these problems.  As of Friday, November 1^st, 2002, the provincial small claims limit will be increased from $7,500.00 to $25,000.00.  This will make Alberta's small claims limit the highest in Canada.

Prior to this change, any civil claim above $7,500.00 had to be brought in the Court of Queen's Bench.  This meant longer, more complex procedures and the aid of a lawyer.  Provincial Court, Civil Division ("Small Claims Court"), on the other hand, is specifically designed to be a simplified, user-friendly system where individuals can represent themselves, as opposed to hiring counsel.  With the small claims limit more than tripling, it will open the door to allow a substantially higher number of individuals to take advantage of these benefits.

The difference between pursuing a civil claim in Small Claims Court as opposed to the Court of Queen's Bench is considerable.  In the Court of Queen's Bench there are a number of complex procedural steps such as filing an Affidavit of Records and conducting Examinations for Discovery.  There is also a requirement that a Certificate of Readiness be filed before the issue will be set down for trial.  The filing fee for this alone is $600.00.  At the end of the day it costs the parties a substantial sum of money and takes a considerable amount of time before a matter is concluded.  In Small Claims Court there are no complex procedural steps, such as those mentioned above, and you don�t need to file a Certificate of Readiness to have your matter set down for trial.  The process is less formal and the outcome is based on verbal evidence given by the parties.  This simplified system means that matters are dealt with much quicker and litigants can represent themselves, therefore resulting in substantial cost savings.

The filing fee to commence a civil claim up to $7,500.00 in Small Claims Court will remain at $100.00.  For those claims over $7,500.00, the filing fee will be $200.00, which is the same charged to file a civil claim in the Court of Queen's Bench.  The idea is that claims over $7,500.00 tend to be more complex and will take up more of the court's time and resources than those $7,500.00 and under, therefore the higher filing fee will help cover this increased cost.

The increase to the small claims limit will allow more Albertans to take advantage of the lower costs and quicker trial times in Small Claims Court.  Also, by increasing the number of cases that can be dealt with at the Provincial Court level, it frees up the Court of Queen's Bench so that it can deal with other matters more quickly.  So basically, it's a win-win situation for anyone involved in a court proceeding in Alberta.

By Danielle M. Elder
October 30, 2002