Rule 68, Expedited Litigation Project Rule
| Please note: |
Rule 68 expansion province-wide |
B.C. Supreme Court Rule 68, the Expedited Litigation Project Rule, has been amended by Order in Council to apply province-wide. The amendment takes effect on January 1, 2008 and also addresses issues concerning witness summaries and the ability to obtain documents in the possession of third parties. |
In September 2005, Rule 68, Expedited Litigation Project Rule, was introduced to facilitate the efficient conduct of Supreme Court cases where the dollar-value of the claim is $100,000 or less, exclusive of interest and costs. It was introduced as a two year pilot project in the Vancouver, Victoria, Prince George and Nelson registries.
One of the guiding principles of Rule 68 is proportionality. The goal is to make the amount of pre-trial process and, therefore, the cost to the parties, proportionate to the value of the amount in dispute.
Key features of Rule 68 include:
- limits on pre-trial procedures such as examination for discovery;
- with few exceptions, contested interlocutory applications are not allowed before a case management conference or a trial management has been held;
- pre-trial document disclosure is simplified and expedited;
- jury trials are not allowed;
- parties are required to engage in an early and more comprehensive exchange of information;
- trial management conferences conducted by a judge are held between 15 and 30 days before trial;
- at least seven days prior to a trial management conference, parties are required to exchange comprehensive trial briefs, which among other things summarize the issues and their positions on the issues, provide a list of witnesses that they intend to call at trial and summarize the evidence that they expect each of their witnesses will give; and
- at a trial management conference, a judge may impose time limits on the direct and cross-examination of witnesses, as well as on opening statements and final submissions.
