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This section has information about steps that can be taken after judgment including setting aside a judgment, appealing and collecting on a judgment.
If your claim was dismissed or judgment was given against you because you did not appear on a court date, you can apply to have the judgment set aside.
If the case was heard in the Court of King’s Bench an application to set aside a judgment must be made within 15 days of the trial. For a Small Claims case this application must be made within 90 days after the date of the judgment. In exceptional circumstances the court can allow the application to be made later than 90 days after the judgment.
To set aside a Small Claims judgment you must fill out the Application to Set Aside a Judgment form. If the case was dismissed because you failed to appear you must include an Affidavit explaining why you did not appear. If you are the defendant you must also show that you have a valid defence to the action. A defence will be considered valid if it is based on reasonable grounds and/or if there is an issue that could be resolved by a trial. The judge will look at the application and decide whether the case should go back to court. If the judge decides the case should go back to court the judge will issue a Summons indicating a new court date. You must prove service on the other party before the hearing can go ahead. At the hearing the judge can set aside the judgment and determine if the case should be reheard.
An appeal can only be made if the judge who decided the case made a mistake in applying the law. An appeal is not an opportunity to introduce new evidence or to challenge findings of fact that the trial judge made. On appeal the court looks at the transcript from the trial and the decision of the trial judge.
Generally an appeal from a Small Claims Court judgment must be made within 30 days of the judgment. The Court of King's Bench can extend this time up to 150 days if the person can show why they did not appeal within the time limit.
Parties are not required to have a lawyer for an appeal unless the party is a company or corporation. There are different procedures for a company or corporation.
To appeal a Small Claims judgment you must...
An appeal from a judgment of a King’s Bench Court must be made to the Court of Appeal. There is detailed information on the process on the Court of Appeal website. Depending on the case, you may have a right of appeal or you may need leave of the court to appeal. An appeal is started with a Notice of Appeal that you must serve on the other party and file at the court. You will need to file a transcript of the trial with the Court of Appeal - there is a fee to obtain a transcript.
To prepare for your hearing you will need to prepare an Appeal Book. Rule 24 of the Court of Appeal Rules lists what is required in an Appeal Book. You will also need to prepare a written argument. This must include:
The other party must also prepare a written argument. Once all the required documents are filed and served the Registrar of the Court of Appeal will set a hearing date.
The successful party is responsible for collecting the judgment. In many cases, the unsuccessful party will voluntarily pay the amount owing. In other cases, the successful party may need to use legal methods to collect the amount owing.
If you have a Small Claims judgment no steps to enforce the judgment may be taken before the appeal period is over or as long as the terms of the judgment are being complied with. Court of King’s Bench judgments can be enforced immediately.
If legal collection for a Small Claims case is necessary, a Certificate of Judgment must be filed with the Court of King's Bench. There is a filing fee of $10. Once the judgment is filed with the King's Bench Court the judgment can be enforced like a judgment of that court.
For more information see Collecting on a Judgment.
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