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The Provincial Court of Alberta, Civil Division, is empowered to hear and decide claims for debts owing up to $25,000 and claims for damages up to 25,000.
This Court, however, does not have the power to deal with cases involving title to land, validity of wills, malicious prosecution, false imprisonment, defamation, criminal conversation, breach of promise of marriage, recovery of property wrongfully withheld, actions against Judges for anything done by them in carrying out their duties or by local governments and school boards for the collection of taxes. These matters must be brought in the Court of Queen's Bench.
To sue in Provincial Court you, the Plaintiff must file a civil claim with the Clerk of the Provincial Court, Civil Division. The forms for such claims are provided by the Court and ther is a filing fee of $100.00 for claims up to $10,000, and $200.00 for claims in excess of $10,000.
The Plaintiff must then serve the Defendant with a copy of the claim and a document called a Dispute Note. The Defendant has 20 days (30 days if the Defendant was served outside of Alberta) in which to file a Dispute Note with the Clerk of the Court.
If no Dispute Note is filed,the Plaintiff can, in the case of a debt claim, ask the Court to issue a default judgment. In claims for damages, the Defendant would be noted in default and the Clerk would then set a date for the Court to hear the Plaintiff's evidence relating to the amount of damages. Appraisal reports or invoices must be produced to the Court to establish the amount claimed.
If the Defendant files a Dispute Note, the Clerk sets the matter down for trial and notifies the parties of the date. Any party can compel the attendance of a witnesses by requesting the Clerk to issue a Notice to Attend. The party requiring the witness must serve the Notice personally on the witness together with witness fees (presently $10.00 plus travel costs). Although the strict rules of evidence are not followed in Provincial Court, facts must be established on evidence within the knowledge of the witness and hearsay may not be permitted.
If the Plaintiff fails to appear at the hearing, the Judge may dismiss the case. If the Defendant fails to appear, the Court may grant judgment against it. A party may appeal a decision of the Provincial Court Judge to the Court of Queen's Bench by filing and serving a Notice of Appeal within 30 days of the giving of the judgment.
A party may appear personally in Provincial Court or be represented by an agent or a lawyer. To save legal costs, such cases are usually handled by students-at-law.