The appellant appealed a Small Claims Court decision ordering him to pay $12,000 to the respondent, his former common-law partner, for an unpaid loan.
The appellant argued that the Small Claims Court lacked jurisdiction under section 21.8 of the Courts of Justice Act because the parties had signed a separation agreement, making it a family law matter.
The Divisional Court dismissed the appeal, finding that the pith and substance of the claim was a simple common law action in debt arising from a discrete loan agreement, not a claim created by the family law relationship or the separation agreement.
