Part 36 published on 01/12/11
Owners claims could not be asserted in Provincial (Small Claims) Court
One of the strata lot owners sued the strata corporation for return of a portion of a special levy which he said was paid “for a service which was never provided”.
The Provincial Court declined to decide the matter, holding that the claim could only be decided by the Supreme Court of British Columbia, because many of the allegations dealt with strata corporation “governance matters” in that the plaintiff was seeking to challenge decisions taken by the strata council. Therefore, even though the plaintiff’s claim was a monetary claim falling within the monetary jurisdiction of the Small Claims Court, the issues to be determined fell exclusively within the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of British Columbia under Sections 164 and 165 of the Strata Property Act.