Davison v. Canadian Artists Syndicate Inc.,

• Jurisdiction: Nova Scotia
• Judge: Barnett
• Neutral Citation: 2011 NSSM 28
• Citation: 2011 NSSM 28,(2011), 303 N.S.R.(2d) 63 (SmCl),303 NSR(2d) 63,(2011), 303 NSR(2d) 63 (SmCl),303 N.S.R.(2d) 63
• Date: 29 November 2010
• Court: Small Claims Court of Nova Scotia (Canada)

Davison v. Cdn. Artists Syndicate (2011), 303 N.S.R.(2d) 63 (SmCl);

    957 A.P.R. 63

MLB headnote and full text

Temp. Cite: [2011] N.S.R.(2d) TBEd. MY.039

Christine Davison (applicant) v. Canadian Artists Syndicate Incorporated (respondent)

(319192; 2011 NSSM 28)

Indexed As: Davison v. Canadian Artists Syndicate Inc.

Nova Scotia Small Claims Court

Barnett, Adjudicator

April 26, 2011.

Summary:

Canadian Artists Syndicate Inc. (CAS) successfully sued Davison in the Small Claims Court of Nova Scotia. CAS obtained judgment against Davison in the amount of $2,369.32. The clerk of the Small Claims Court issued an Execution Order naming Davison as the judgment debtor. Davison applied for relief from the Execution Order.

An Adjudicator of the Nova Scotia Small Claims Court dismissed the application.

Courts - Topic 2004

Jurisdiction - General principles - Inherent jurisdiction (incl. parens patriae jurisdiction and jurisdiction to stay an action) - Canadian Artists Syndicate Inc. (CAS) successfully sued Davison in the Small Claims Court of Nova Scotia and obtained judgment in the amount of $2,369.32 - The clerk of the Small Claims Court issued an Execution Order naming Davison as the judgment debtor - Davison applied for relief from the Execution Order - Davison requested that she be ordered to pay $100 a month until the debt to CAS was paid off - An Adjudicator of the Nova Scotia Small Claims Court held that the Small Claims Court had the jurisdiction to grant relief from execution orders issued pursuant to its judgments - The Small Claims Court could refer to the Civil Procedure Rules pertaining to proceedings in the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia for guidance in the absence of a specific statutory or regulatory provision pertaining to the Small Claims Court - Under s. 31(1) of the Small Claims Court Act, orders of the Small Claims Court could be enforced in the same manner as orders of the Supreme Court - Further, the inherent jurisdiction or implied jurisdiction also permitted the Small Claims Court to grant relief from an execution order - Addressing a request for relief from an execution order issued by the Small Claims Court was necessarily incidental or ancillary to the court's jurisdiction as conferred by statute - Mechanisms of enforcement could and should be dealt with in the Small Claims Court in respect of its orders - Finally, the interest of litigants in the Small Claims Court, many of whom were self-represented, in accessing an informal and inexpensive court process applied not only to the adjudication of issues but also in the enforcement of Small Claims Court orders that flowed from that adjudication process - See paragraphs 12 to 40.

Courts - Topic 6204.1

Provincial courts - Nova Scotia - Small Claims Court - Jurisdiction - General - [See Courts - Topic 2004 ].

Execution - Topic 792

General rules - Payment by judgment debtor - Periodic or deferred payments - When available - Canadian Artists Syndicate Inc. (CAS) successfully sued Davison in the Small Claims Court of Nova Scotia and obtained judgment in the amount of $2,369.32 - The clerk of the Small Claims Court issued an Execution Order naming Davison as the judgment debtor - Davison applied for relief from the Execution Order because she was a self-employed contract worker who did not have a significant income - She was concerned that the Sheriff might seize the whole of any individual sum that she got paid, thus leaving her destitute - Davison requested that she be ordered to pay $100 a month until the debt to CAS was paid off - An Adjudicator of the Nova Scotia Small Claims Court dismissed the application - The money payments that Davison received for her work fell within the definition of "wages" and Civil Procedure Rule 79.08(3) therefore provided Davison with adequate protection from what she feared; i.e. loss to execution of one hundred percent of any particular payment - The court did not accept the premise suggested by Davison that she would necessarily be left completely destitute if an Execution Order was served on an employer to whom she provided her work product - See paragraphs 41 to 48.

Practice - Topic 9767

Small Claims - Jurisdiction - General - [See Courts - Topic 2004 ].

Cases Noticed:

Brown v. Newton (2009), 285 N.S.R.(2d) 228; 905 A.P.R. 228; 2009 NSSC 388, refd to. [para. 16].

Atton v. Malloy et al. (2004), 225 N.S.R.(2d) 201; 713 A.P.R. 201; 2004 NSSC 110, refd to. [para. 16].

Smith's Field Manor Development Ltd. v. Campbell, [2010] N.S.R.(2d) Uned. 26; 2010 NSSC 63, refd to. [para. 20].

Baker v. Tanner (1991), 107 N.S.R.(2d) 199; 290 A.P.R. 199 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 21].

Scaravelli & Associates v. Quinlan (2005), 241 N.S.R.(2d) 64; 767 A.P.R. 64 (Small Claims Ct.), refd to. [para. 23].

Wickwire Holm v. Wilkes (2005), 237 N.S.R.(2d) 197; 754 A.P.R. 197 (Small Claims Ct.), refd to. [para. 23].

Wickwire Holm v. Nova Scotia (Attorney General) (2007), 258 N.S.R.(2d) 259; 824 A.P.R. 259 (S.C.), refd to. [para. 24].

Atlantic Electronics Ltd. (Assignee of) v. Dauphinee - see MacKay v. Dauphinee.

MacKay v. Dauphinee (2007), 254 N.S.R.(2d) 127; 810 A.P.R. 127 (Small Claims Ct.), revd. (2008), 266 N.S.R.(2d) 92; 851 A.P.R. 92 (S.C.), consd. [para. 26].

R. v. Gunn (P.B.) (2003), 335 A.R. 137 (Q.B.), refd to. [para. 31].

Montreal Trust Co. v. Churchill Forest Industries (Manitoba) Ltd., [1971] M.J. No. 38 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 32].

Figliola v. Family Responsibility Office (Ont.), [2009] O.J. No. 2538 (C.J.), refd to. [para. 35].

Henning and Weber, Re, [1984] O.J. No. 3117 (Prov. Ct.), refd to. [para. 36].

Cocker v. Tempest (1841), 151 E.R. 864 (Exch.), refd to. [para. 39].

Di Benedetto v. Slaunwhite (1993), 119 N.S.R.(2d) 366; 330 A.P.R. 366 (Co. Ct.), refd to. [para. 45].

Authors and Works Noticed:

Sungunasiri, S., The Inherent Jurisdiction of Inferior Courts (1990-91), 12 Adv. Q. 215, p. 216 [para. 33].

Counsel:

Christine Davison, self-represented;

Richard Vroom, representative of the respondent.

This application was heard on November 29, 2010, by Barnett, Adjudicator, of the Nova Scotia Small Claims Court, who delivered the following judgment on April 26, 2011.