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[1] 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.
