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 Court of Quebec - Small Claims Division
The Small Claims Division of the Court of Quebec uses simplified rules to allow ordinary people to claim what they are owed. A company, partnership, or association of 5 employees or less can also go to the Small Claims Division to claim a sum of money owed to it by someone else but only if it maintained this number of employees during the last year.
A fundamental trait of the Small Claims Division is that the parties must represent themselves. Exceptions aside, you cannot hire a lawyer to represent you at the hearing. However, a company, association or partnership may be represented by an employee provided that they have an employment contract together. The maximum amount that can be claimed at the Small Claims Division is $7,000, excluding interest. In light of this rule, a person may decide to reduce her claim to $7,000 just to have the right to sue at the Small Claims Division. However, a person cannot take separate lawsuits with the goal of dividing a claim of over $7,000 into several smaller claims. . To be heard in the Small Claims Division, a claim must arise from: a contract (for example, you buy a product that does not work as well as promised), a damage caused by another person’s fault (for example, your neighbor accidentally damages your fence),or the application of the law. You can also file at the Small Claims Division if the claim arises from a credit contract where repayment is made in installments or from a contract where you must do something in a certain sequence (like an employment contract or a disability insurance contract). For these types of contracts, it is possible to make a claim for each installment even if the total value of the contract is greater than $ 7,000. The Small Claims Division does not hear:
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