Litigation Lawyer Vancouver
Time limits, the right forum, and what it costs
Most people who call us about a dispute ask what it is worth. The questions that decide more cases are how long you have, which forum the claim belongs in, and what losing would cost. At Equity Law Group our litigation team acts in civil disputes in the Supreme Court of British Columbia, the Provincial Court and before administrative tribunals: contract claims, builders liens and construction disputes, and the collection of debts and judgments.
We deal with those three questions first, because each of them can end a claim that is otherwise sound. Where a dispute can be settled on sensible terms we work to settle it; where it cannot, we are ready to take it to trial.
How long you have
Time comes first, because it ends claims before they start. Under British Columbia's Limitation Act, most civil claims must be started within two years of the day the claim was discovered: the day you first knew, or reasonably ought to have known, that you had suffered a loss, that it was caused or contributed to by an act or omission of the person you would sue, and that a court proceeding would be an appropriate way to remedy it. Most claims are also lost 15 years after the act or omission that gave rise to them, whenever they were discovered. Once the period passes, the strength of the claim stops mattering. For a debt, a written, signed acknowledgment from the debtor, or a part payment, made before the period runs out starts both periods again from that day. If something went wrong a while ago and nothing has been done about it, that is the first thing to check.
Where a claim belongs
The forum is decided mostly by the amount. Most claims of $5,000 or less go to the Civil Resolution Tribunal, which works online and is designed to be used without a lawyer. Claims from $5,001 to $35,000 go to Small Claims Court in the Provincial Court. Larger claims, and claims the Provincial Court cannot hear, such as builders lien and defamation claims, belong in the Supreme Court. A claimant can give up the amount over a limit to bring a claim in a simpler forum, but cannot later sue for what was given up. Starting in the wrong place costs months, so it is worth a short conversation before anything is filed.
What a Supreme Court action involves
A Supreme Court action starts with a notice of civil claim, and a defendant served in Canada has 21 days to file and serve a response. A defendant who does not respond can have judgment entered against them by default. Each side must then list every document it has or has had in its possession or control that could be used at trial to prove or disprove a material fact, including documents that hurt its own case, and each can question the other under oath at an examination for discovery. In most actions any party can require the others to attend a mediation.
What losing, and winning, costs
In the Supreme Court the unsuccessful party usually pays part of the successful party's legal costs, on top of its own. Those costs are set by a tariff and rarely cover the full fees. A formal offer to settle changes the calculation. The court can take a refused offer into account, including whether it ought reasonably to have been accepted, and for some or all of the steps after it can deny a party costs it would otherwise receive or award double costs. In Small Claims Court and at the Civil Resolution Tribunal, legal fees are generally not recovered at all. This is why we will tell you early when a case is worth settling, including when that is not what you want to hear.
Builders liens and construction disputes
If your dispute is about a construction project, the timing is tighter still. Under the Builders Lien Act, a contractor, subcontractor or worker who has not been paid can file a claim of lien against the land in the land title office, but only within 45 days of the event the Act sets for that contract: usually the issue of a certificate of completion, or the completion, abandonment or termination of the head contract. A lien not filed in time is lost, whatever the merits of the unpaid bill. A lien that is filed is extinguished unless, within one year, an action to enforce it is started and a certificate of pending litigation is registered, and the owner, or another lien claimant who has already sued, can shorten that to 21 days by serving notice. If you are owed money on a project, that is a call to make this week rather than next month.
British Columbia's Construction Prompt Payment Act, passed in November 2025, will add payment deadlines and a fast adjudication process for payment disputes once it is brought into force.
When a contract is broken
Most contract disputes are about money: a price not paid, work not done, goods not delivered, a deal walked away from. Damages for breach of contract are meant to put you where you would have been had the contract been kept, not to punish the other side, and a party who suffers a loss is expected to take reasonable steps to limit it. What the contract itself says about notice, termination, limits on liability, or whether disputes go to arbitration rather than court, often decides a case before the facts do, which is why we read it first.
Collecting a debt
A debt that is not disputed can often be collected without a trial: a demand letter, then a claim, then judgment by default if the debtor does not respond. A judgment does not pay itself, though. If the debtor still does not pay, it can be enforced by garnishing wages or bank accounts, registering the judgment against land the debtor owns, seizing assets, and requiring the debtor to disclose their finances under oath. Collection is often where the real work in a case is, so it is worth knowing before you sue whether the other side has anything to collect from.
Many disputes start in a document. If yours began with a commercial agreement, see business law; with the purchase or sale of a business, see business purchase and sale; with a property transaction, see real estate; with an estate, see probate.
Call us at 604-259-2844 or email us on info@equitylawgroup.ca for further information.
Frequently asked questions
How long do I have to start a lawsuit in British Columbia?
For most civil claims, two years from the day the claim was discovered, which is the day the claimant first knew, or reasonably ought to have known, that injury, loss or damage had occurred, that it was caused or contributed to by an act or omission of the person against whom the claim is made, and that a court proceeding would be an appropriate way to remedy it. Most claims are also subject to an ultimate limit of 15 years from the act or omission, whenever it was discovered. Some claims have different periods under other statutes, and a builders lien has its own, much shorter deadline.
Which court or tribunal hears a claim?
It depends mainly on the amount. Most claims of $5,000 or less go to the Civil Resolution Tribunal. Claims from $5,001 to $35,000 go to Small Claims Court in the Provincial Court. Claims over $35,000, and claims the Provincial Court cannot hear, such as builders lien and defamation claims, go to the Supreme Court. A claimant can abandon the amount over a limit to fit a lower forum, but cannot later claim the amount abandoned.
What is fast track litigation?
A set of Supreme Court rules for smaller or shorter cases. A party can bring an action under them by filing a notice of fast track action where the only claims are for money, real or personal property or a builders lien and the total is $100,000 or less, excluding interest and costs, where the trial can be completed in three days, or where the parties consent; the court can also order it. Unless the court orders or the parties agree otherwise, examinations for discovery are limited to two hours, and costs are fixed amounts set by the length of the trial.
Does the unsuccessful party pay the other side's legal fees?
Usually only in part. In the Supreme Court the successful party is generally awarded costs calculated on a tariff, which rarely covers the full legal fees. Costs closer to the actual fees, called special costs, are reserved mainly for reprehensible conduct. In Small Claims Court and at the Civil Resolution Tribunal, legal fees are generally not recoverable.
What is a formal offer to settle?
A written offer made under Rule 9-1 of the Supreme Court Civil Rules. It is not disclosed to the court until everything but costs has been decided. The court can then take it into account, including whether it ought reasonably to have been accepted, and for some or all of the steps after it can deny a party costs it would otherwise receive, award double costs, or, where a defendant's offer was at least as good as the judgment, award the defendant its costs.
Can the other side be required to mediate?
In most Supreme Court actions, yes. Under the Notice to Mediate (General) Regulation, any party can require the others to attend a mediation session, within set time limits after the pleadings and before trial. Attending is compulsory; settling is not.
How long is there to file a builders lien?
45 days, counted from the event the Builders Lien Act sets for the contract: usually the issue of a certificate of completion, or the completion, abandonment or termination of the head contract. A lien filed in time is extinguished unless, within one year of filing, an action to enforce it is started and a certificate of pending litigation is registered. The owner, or another lien claimant who has already sued, can shorten that to 21 days by serving notice.
What happens if a judgment is not paid?
The court does not collect it automatically. The judgment creditor can enforce it by garnishing wages or bank accounts, registering it against land the debtor owns, seizing assets, and having the debtor examined about their finances.