Legal Blog

Jurisdiction – Small Claims Court

Edward Goldentuler Professional Corp v. Sorger 2016 Ont Div Ct

Lawyer obtained default judgment for fees. Client moved to set aside the judgment years later and the motions judge did so after deciding that the original claim was contrary to the Limitations Act and was outside the jurisdiction of the Small Claims Court. The Divisional Court set aside the order of the motions judge and reinstated the judgment. The motions judge was, in effect, dealing with the original judgment as if there were an appeal of that judgment and did not have jurisdiction to do this. The motions judge could have set aside the order if satisfied that the defendant had a meritorious defence and a reasonable explanation for the default and the motion was made as soon as possible in all circumstances. However, the defendant provided no evidence to meet the 2^nd and 3^rd criteria.

Written by Jonathan Speigel Jonathan Speigel, the founding partner of Speigel Nichols Fox LLP, leads the litigation and construction practices.