Small Claims Court Grants Trademark Relief — Seems Kosher

The recent small claims court decision in Kashruth Council of Canada v 1412189 Ontario Inc., 2018 CanLII 130064 saw the Ontario Small Claims Court grant the maximum $25,000 award available in that court to the plaintiff, the Kashruth Council of Canada, in a default judgement for the defendant's breach of contract and under section 53 of the Trademarks Act in relation to the corporate defendant's unauthorized use of the plaintiff's COR certification mark (the Judge found the owner and operator of the corporation bore no personal liability).

Small Claims Courts have a relatively limited jurisdiction. Claims brought must be for money or the return of personal property valued at under CAD$25,000. The court is not empowered to grant any other relief, including equitable remedies—so no injunctions (in Kashruth Council of Canada, the plaintiff's request for an order requiring the defendant to remove offending products from sale was denied for being outside the Court's