02/05/2019 – Jurisdiction British Columbia
Part 65 published on 01/03/2019
Court of Appeal reverses the lower Court’s decision to grant leave to Appeal from a decision of the Civil Resolution Tribunal
The Civil Resolution Tribunal had found that the strata corporation, in carrying out a renewal project, had not been obligated to rebuild the owner’s solarium (at least at the time of the renewal project). The owner sought – and was granted – leave to appeal the tribunal’s decision. [See Condo Cases Across Canada, Part 62, June 2018.]
The strata corporation appealed the decision granting leave (to the owner) to appeal the tribunal’s decision. The Court of Appeal reversed the lower Court’s decision, and accordingly withdrew leave to appeal the tribunal’s decision.
The Court of Appeal said:
… I conclude that:
(i) the order under appeal does not identify questions of law, the statutory precondition for the grant of leave to appeal, and
(ii) even if the issues sought to be raised by the respondent could be framed as questions of law, the chambers judge erred in concluding that it is in the interests of justice and fairness to grant leave in this case.
…
The general purpose of the Tribunal was recently summarized by the Supreme Court of British Columbia in The Owners, Strata Plan BCS 1721 v. Watson:
[49] The purpose of the CRT is to provide an accessible, flexible and speedy dispute resolution process to parties involved in strata claims falling within s. 3.6(1) of the CRTA. The CRT’s online processes and emphasis on facilitated dispute resolution are intended to provide the parties with a quick and less expensive form of decision making than adjudication in the Supreme Court. …