This is the first in what I intend to be a regular legal column in the Merritt Herald.
I am hopeful that you will find my articles easy to read, informative and applicable to circumstances that you encounter in your everyday lives.
I am a litigation lawyer. This means that I assist clients who are involved in various types of disputes.
In other words, I am a lawyer that regularly appears in court and other dispute-resolution forums.
My practice is distinct from those lawyers who have what is called a solicitor’s practice.
Lawyers who practice as solicitors assist clients in traditionally non-contentious situations including drafting wills, buying businesses, selling real estate, and other such similar instances.
For my first article, I wanted to provide you with some general information on dispute resolution, what court to file a claim in if that becomes necessary, and when it might be a good idea to consult with a lawyer.
From a legal perspective, the dispute resolution process is very similar, regardless of whether you are dealing with a contract dispute, personal injury dispute or employment dispute.
Before ever filing a claim with a court, it is strongly advisable to try and resolve the issues with the other party through informal discussions or written communications.
If parties can remain objective and are willing to compromise, it is often possible to resolve a dispute without ever having to talk to a lawyer or commence a legal proceeding.
Even if emotions run high, it is worth trying to resolve the dispute through written communications in order to avoid the emotions that sometimes come with communicating face-to-face.
If your efforts to resolve a claim through informal negotiation fail, then you have a few options.
You can either decide to walk away from the dispute, engage a lawyer to assess your claim and assist you in negotiations, or you can decide to file a claim with the courts.
This decision is often influenced by the nature of the dispute or how much money is in dispute.
In British Columbia, there are two levels of court to commence legal proceedings in — the lower level provincial court (often referred to as small claims court) and the Supreme Court.
The provincial court is reserved for claims where there is less than $25,000 in dispute.
Disputes where there is more than $25,000 in dispute have to be commenced in the Supreme Court, unless you are willing to sever the portion of your claim above $25,000.
In other words, if you have a claim that is potentially worth $35,000, you could commence that claim in the provincial court, but you would only then be entitled to claim a maximum $25,000 and forgo the $10,000 amount above the limit.
So what court should you chose? Often, the decision is easy — if there is less than $25,000 in dispute, it may be that you simply commence the lawsuit in provincial court.
Furthermore, beyond the monetary limits, there are advantages and disadvantages to both levels of court. For example, while the provincial court tends to be a quicker, less procedurally complicated process than the Supreme Court, parties in the provincial court do not have access to certain discovery processes that can be helpful in resolving a claim before it gets to trial.
The Supreme Court on the other hand is a more complicated process and tends to be a longer means to resolve a dispute.
However, the Supreme Court provides for more detailed processes of getting information and documents from the other party — this can be helpful in advancing your claim or defending one brought against you.
Whether you want to forgo simplicity for this often depends on the nature and amount of the dispute.
You may also want to seek legal advice to more fully understand the pros and cons of these alternatives.
Other than the two levels of court in B.C., there are also other dispute resolution forums that are sometimes used instead of courts, such as the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal or the Employment Standards Tribunal.
Whether these sorts of non-court options are available depends on the issues you are dealing with.
At the end of the day, the dispute-resolution forum chosen will depend, not only the amount of money in dispute, but also the nature of the dispute.
If you are uncertain about the nature of the dispute or whether you have a claim worth pursuing or how much a claim might be worth, it may be a good idea to consult with legal counsel.
Even with a relatively short consultation you may be able to obtain some preliminary advice on the strength of your claim and whether it is worth pursuing further.
Greg Pratch is a lawyer and partner with Pushor Mitchell LLP. He practices in the area of litigation with a particular emphasis in personal injury matters and tax disputes.
