In Letestu Estate v Ritlyn Investments Limited, 2017 ONCA 442, the Ontario Court of Appeal considered whether an action for damages in a slip and fall case is statute barred by the one-year limitation period under the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA) or the two-year limitation period under the Limitations Act, 2002. The court’s determination hinged on whether the Landlord and Tenant Board (the “Board”) has exclusive jurisdiction over claims under the RTA. The court concluded that it did not. In reaching its determination, the court relied on subsection 207(1) of the RTAwhich stipulates as follows:
A person entitled to apply under the Act but whose claim exceeds the Board’s monetary jurisdiction may commence a proceeding in any court of competent jurisdiction…
Since the damages claimed by the appellant estate exceeded the monetary jurisdiction of the Board, the appellant was entitled to commence the proceeding in the Superior Court where the two-year limitation period applied. Accordingly, the appellant’s claim was not statute barred and the court did have jurisdiction over the action.
