Getting Started in Small Claims Court:

Question: How do I start a Small Claims Court case in Ontario and what should I include in my Plaintiff’s Claim before I retain a paralegal?

Answer: To start a Small Claims Court case in Ontario, you generally file a Plaintiff’s Claim (Form 7A) and follow the court’s procedural requirements before serving it on the defendant, including the key story facts that support your claim while keeping your pleading aligned with Rule 7 of the Rules of the Small Claims Court and avoiding unnecessary or risky details that can affect how the claim is understood or defended.   The team at Byfield Legal Services can help you prepare a clear, compliant claim package, review potential issues like counterclaims, third party claims, misnaming, and cost risk, and then help you retain the right legal support for your next steps, not just the form completion.   If you tell us your situation, Byfield Legal Services will guide you on what to gather and how to structure your case so you can move forward with more confidence, call (289) 927-7365 for assistance.

Commencing Proceedings and Retaining Legal Counsel for Small Claims Court

To get a lawsuit started in Small Claims Court, the preparing and issuing of the document known as a Plaintiff's Claim is required.  The Plaintiff's Claim document is a specific form, numbered and referred to as Form 7A, and is accessible online.  The main parts of the Form 7A document are quite easy to complete as such simply involves filling in a few blanks of information.  The more challenging aspect of starting a lawsuit is knowing what parts of the story to say and what parts of the story to avoid saying, if any.  There are various rules regarding the extent of information that is required.  The prescribed rules for the requirements when beginning a Small Claims Court lawsuit are available for review at Rule 7 of the Rules of the Small Claims Court.

Although the Small Claims Court is, generally, thought of as a court with relatively informal processes that are simple enough for people to do without assistance from a lawyer or paralegal, there are many potential pitfalls as issues to think about.  Issues to think about include, among other things:

• What if I am countersued by the Defendant?
• What if I lose the case?
• What if I lose and the Defendant seeks costs against me?
• What if the Defendant sues another person as a 'third party'?
• What if I get a name wrong?
• What if the case becomes more complicated than originally expected?

The concerns listed above, among others, should be very carefully reviewed before bringing a lawsuit.  Diligent review of these questions and the potential pitfalls are highly important before getting started.