Difference between revisions of "Starting a Small Claim (20:V)"

When drafting a notice of claim and throughout the litigation process, it is important to stick to the '''relevant''' facts.   Court is not a  forum for airing grievances that do not give rise to a claim.   For example, in a claim for breach of contract, the fact that the defendant  acted rudely is generally not relevant to the claim. Including irrelevant facts confuses the issues, wastes time, raises tensions, and makes it more difficult to successfully prove the claim. A good rule to follow for each type of claim is to include '''only the facts necessary''' to satisfy the legal test for that type of claim; brief is better.  

It is important to make your cause of action (e.g., negligence, breach of contract, etc.), type of damages, and amount of damages very clear.  Do not let the judge guess what you want.  

A corporation is a legal entity that is separate from its shareholders and employees. It   is   identified   by   a   corporate   designation   such   as  Incorporated,   Limited, Corporation, their abbreviations Inc., Ltd., or Corp., or their French equivalent following the business name.  

A corporation may register a sole proprietorship or partnership and operate under that name. To sue such a company, a claimant should include both the corporate name and the name of the proprietorship or partnership: e.g., 0123456 BC Ltd. dba Joe’ s Bakery. The letters dba stand for “doing business as”.   Variations such as “coba” meaning “carrying on business as” are also acceptable.  

A corporation can enter into contracts and can sue or be sued.     Generally speaking, a corporation’ s shareholders, officers, directors, and  employees are not liable for the actions or liabilities of the corporation or their own actions while acting within the scope of their office or employment. A person who feels that a shareholder, director, officer, or employee of a corporation might be liable should obtain legal advice.  

Corporations may be either provincially or federally incorporated.   A federal company is incorporated under the ''Canada Business Corporations Act'', RSC 1985, c. C-44 [CBCA].   A BC corporation is incorporated under the ''Business  Corporations Act'', SBC 2002, c 57 [BCBCA].  Corporations may also be registered under the laws of the other provinces and territories.  

Because a corporation can have multiple locations, every corporation, including non-BCBCA corporations, doing business in BC must provide an address where it can be served with notices of claim and other important documents.   A claimant must perform a company search to obtain the  current registered address for the defendant corporation3940. This address must be listed as the corporation’ s address on the notice of claim form.   

If the party is unknown because of a motor vehicle hit and run, the claimant may sue ICBC as a nominal defendant.