Small Claims Court Process:
- The first step to start a lawsuit (called an action), a plaintiff completes a form called a Plaintiff's Claim, submits
it to the appropriate Court of jurisdiction and serves it personally on the defendant(s). The action usually has to be started within two years of the loss suffered, or else you may be out of time;
- Once a Claim is served on the defendant(s), they have twenty days to file a Defence with the Court. They may also bring a claim against the plaintiff if it relates to the same events in the form of a Defendant’s Claim;
- Before a trial is held, the Court will schedule a Settlement Conference in which the parties are required to attend and explore the possibility of settling the matter.
- If settlement does not occur, the Plaintiff can ask the Court to set the action for trial. The entire process can take between 9-12 months and depends in part on how busy the Court is.
Rogers Law Firm can also assist in writing demand letters, mediating out of court settlements, or you can hire us for certain aspects of the process and not others if it is more cost-efficient to do so.
Helpful Links
Rules of the Small Claims Court
