Monetary Jurisdiction

Small Claims Court

The Small Claims Court has jurisdiction in civil matters where the amount in issue does not exceed $25,000 ($35,000.00 as of January 1, 2020) per party see Lock v. Waterloo (Regional Municipality), 2011 CarswellOnt 15974 exclusive of interest and costs. The monetary jurisdiction of this court is fixed by regulation, rising to the current limit from $10,000 on January 1, 2010. The majority of Small Claims Court matters are heard by deputy judges, lawyers who have been appointed for a period of three years by the Regional Senior Justice to hear such cases. As result of court reform, no new full-time judges have been appointed by the provincial government to preside in Small Claims Court. Proceedings in the Small Claims Court are governed by a codified set of rules contained in O. Reg. 258/98 (as amended), the Rules of the Small Claims Court'', instead of the complex Ontario Rules of Civil Procedure.