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Areas of Focus: Types of Cases Handled
Question: What types of cases can I take to Small Claims Court?
Answer: Small Claims Court typically handles disputes involving unpaid debts, property damage, breach of contract, and personal injury claims. Navigating this process efficiently can help you achieve a timely resolution, ensuring your concerns are addressed effectively.
Understanding the Types of Cases that May Be Litigated in Small Claims Court
The various types of law are extensive and certainly too much for anybody to ever fully know. Even judges with decades of experience will lack full knowledge of all types of law; and accordingly, judges are usually assigned to specific types of cases where the type of law involved is familiar. Additionally, judges often expect and require legal representatives to research precedent cases and submit summarized, and cited, viewpoints as arguments for a position in the case as per that research.
“... I include myself among those who had never heard of the tort of barratry ...”
~ C.A. Osborne A.C.J.O.
McIntyre Estate v. Ontario, 2001 CanLII 7972 (ON CA)
Accordingly, it is common that particular judges will hear civil law cases, other judges hear family law cases, and other judges hear criminal cases, etc. Similarly, legal practitioners will focus upon specific areas of law for the types of Small Claims Court cases that are handled. Of course, it is true that every Small Claims Court case will have a unique factual situation; however, the law and justice system, developed over hundreds of years and it will be unlikely that cases arise where the legal issues truly a first time issue; and accordingly, the relevant law will exist for most case scenarios.