Small Claims Court in Ontario handles claims up to fifty thousand dollars not including interest and costs. This limit applies to the principal amount you’re claiming – the court can add pre-judgment and post-judgment interest, and if you win, you can be awarded up to fifteen percent of your claim amount for costs. If your claim exceeds fifty thousand dollars, you must either reduce it to fifty thousand to proceed in Small Claims Court, or file in Superior Court where procedures are more complex and legal costs are significantly higher. Some plaintiffs choose to abandon the portion over fifty thousand dollars to access the simpler and less expensive Small Claims process rather than pursuing the full amount in Superior Court.

Most civil claims in Ontario must be filed within two years from the date you discovered you had a claim, under the Limitations Act. The discovery date is when you knew or reasonably should have known that injury, loss or damage had occurred, that it was caused by another person’s act or omission, and that a court proceeding would be an appropriate way to seek a remedy. This means the clock usually starts when you discover the problem, not necessarily when the original event occurred. However, some claims have different limitation periods – assault claims have a two-year limit, claims based on unpaid construction work have shorter specialized limitation periods, and claims against municipalities require notice within ten days and have much shorter filing deadlines. If you’re approaching what might be a limitation deadline, consult with a legal professional immediately because once the limitation period expires, your claim is permanently barred regardless of its merit.

Yes, licensed paralegals are authorized by the Law Society of Ontario to provide complete representation in Small Claims Court matters. This includes evaluating your case, filing all necessary documents, negotiating settlements, representing you at settlement conferences and trials, conducting examinations and cross-examinations, making legal submissions, and handling enforcement of judgments. Paralegals must carry professional liability insurance, follow ethical rules, and maintain competence in the areas where they practice. Many people choose paralegal representation for Small Claims matters because paralegals specialize in this court and typically charge significantly less than lawyers while providing the same level of representation. For claims within Small Claims Court’s fifty-thousand-dollar jurisdiction, there is no advantage to hiring a lawyer over a qualified paralegal who focuses on this court regularly.

Winning a judgment gives you a legal right to collect the money, but the court doesn’t collect it for you. If the debtor doesn’t pay voluntarily within the time specified in the judgment, you must take enforcement steps. Options include garnishing their wages by serving a Notice of Garnishment on their employer, garnishing their bank account if you know where they bank, registering the judgment against any property they own which must be paid before they can sell or refinance, seizing and selling their personal property through the Sheriff, or examining the debtor in court under oath to discover what assets and income they have. Each enforcement method has fees and procedural requirements. The reality is that if the debtor has no job, no bank account, no property, and no seizable assets, your judgment may be uncollectible despite your legal victory. This is why assessing the debtor’s ability to pay before investing time and money in a lawsuit is an important part of case evaluation. A judgment is only valuable if the losing party has means to pay it.

In Toronto, a typical Small Claims Court case takes twelve to eighteen months from filing to trial if it doesn’t settle earlier. The settlement conference usually occurs three to five months after the Defence is filed. If settlement isn’t reached, trial is typically scheduled another six to twelve months later depending on court availability and complexity of the case. Simple cases with minimal witnesses and documents may move faster, while complex cases with multiple parties or extensive evidence may take longer. Many cases settle before trial – either at the settlement conference stage when both parties see the strengths and weaknesses of their positions, or shortly before trial when the reality of going to court motivates compromise. Emergency situations like wrongful withholding of essential property can sometimes be dealt with on shorter timelines through motions, but typical debt collection and contract cases follow the standard timeline.

If you’ve been served with a Plaintiff’s Claim, you have twenty calendar days from the date you were served to file a Defence. This deadline is strict and includes weekends and holidays. If you don’t respond within twenty days, the plaintiff can request a default judgment against you for the full amount claimed plus costs without you ever getting to tell your side. Even if you think you owe some or all of the money, filing a Defence protects your rights – you can dispute the amount, explain circumstances, negotiate payment terms, or file a counterclaim if the plaintiff owes you money. To file a Defence, obtain the form from the court office or online, complete it admitting or denying each allegation in the claim and providing your version of events, file it at the same court location where the claim was issued, and serve a copy on the plaintiff or their representative. If you’ve already missed the twenty-day deadline, you need to bring a motion asking the court to set aside the noting in default and allow you to defend late. The court has discretion to allow late defences if you have a reasonable explanation for the delay and an arguable defence on the merits.

Yes, and the majority of Small Claims Court cases settle before trial. Settlement can happen at any time – before the Defence is filed, after exchange of documents, at the mandatory settlement conference, or even on the day of trial. The settlement conference is specifically designed to facilitate resolution, with a judge helping both parties see the strengths and weaknesses of their cases and encouraging reasonable compromise. Settlement has several advantages over trial – you get certainty about the outcome rather than risking what a judge might decide, you avoid the stress and time of trial preparation and attendance, you can negotiate payment terms that work for both parties rather than having the court impose a deadline, and you save costs because trials require more preparation and time. Settlements are formalized in Minutes of Settlement signed by both parties, which can be converted to a court order if either party doesn’t comply with the terms. Even if you have a strong case, settling for a reasonable amount you’ll actually collect is often better than winning a judgment you may never be able to enforce.

The evidence you need depends on the type of claim, but generally includes documents proving the agreement or relationship between you and the other party, documents showing the problem occurred, and documents proving your losses or damages. For contract disputes, bring the written contract or any written terms, emails or messages discussing the agreement, invoices or receipts for payments made or services provided, and documentation of attempts to resolve the issue before court. For property damage claims, bring photographs of the damage taken from multiple angles with dates, repair estimates or invoices from qualified contractors, receipts for replaced items, and any inspection reports or expert opinions. For all cases, organize documents chronologically and make extra copies for the judge and other party. Witness testimony from people who saw relevant events or can confirm facts also strengthens your case. Keep all original documents safe and never send originals to anyone – only bring originals to court when required. Poor evidence organization or missing key documents is one of the most common reasons people lose cases they should have won.

You have the right to represent yourself in Small Claims Court, and many people do so successfully for straightforward matters where both parties agree on the facts and only dispute the legal result. However, professional representation significantly improves your chances when the other side is represented, when evidence needs careful organization and presentation, when legal arguments need to be made, when the facts are contested and credibility is important, or when significant money is at stake. A paralegal who focuses on Small Claims Court knows the procedures, understands what evidence the court needs to see, can cross-examine the other side’s witnesses effectively to expose weaknesses or inconsistencies, makes persuasive legal submissions using relevant case law, and handles procedural issues that arise. For amounts where the cost of representation is proportionate to what’s at stake, professional help is usually a good investment. Many people who initially try representing themselves end up hiring representation later after realizing how complex the process actually is, by which time they may have already made mistakes that hurt their case.

If you win your case, the court will typically order the losing party to pay a portion of your costs in addition to the judgment amount. Costs in Small Claims Court are limited to fifteen percent of the amount claimed, which is much lower than Superior Court where full legal costs can be significant. The court has discretion to award less than fifteen percent or, in rare cases, more if a party has behaved unreasonably. Disbursements – expenses you paid for filing fees, service costs, and expert reports – can be recovered separately from the fifteen percent costs cap. If you accepted an offer to settle and then won more at trial than the offer amount, you may be entitled to costs from the date of the offer at a higher rate. The costs rules are designed to discourage unreasonable behaviour and encourage settlement while keeping costs proportionate to the amounts in dispute. Even with cost awards, you typically won’t recover your full legal fees, which is why evaluating whether a claim is worth pursuing requires considering whether the likely recovery justifies the time and expense involved.