Small Claims Court — filing a claim

The Small Claims Court is the branch of the Superior Court of Justice that decides everyday money disputes — an unpaid invoice, a deposit never returned, work paid for and never finished. Karb Law acts for plaintiffs in those actions, from drafting the claim through to the settlement conference and, where the matter does not settle, trial.

Angelina Shuster is a paralegal licensed by the Law Society of Ontario, and representation in the Small Claims Court is squarely within a licensed paralegal's scope of practice under By-Law 4. This page is general information about procedure and is not legal advice; reading it creates no paralegal-client relationship.

What the Small Claims Court is

Section 23 of the Courts of Justice Act gives it jurisdiction over two things: any action for the payment of money where the amount claimed does not exceed the prescribed amount, exclusive of interest and costs, and any action to recover possession of personal property worth no more than that amount.

Procedure is governed by its own rules — the Rules of the Small Claims Court, O. Reg. 258/98 — which are shorter and written in plainer language than the rules that govern the Superior Court. There are no examinations for discovery and no affidavit of documents, and a judge or a deputy judge hears the matter.

What fits within the monetary limit

The maximum amount of a claim is 50,000 dollars, exclusive of interest and costs. That figure was raised from 35,000 on 1 October 2025 by O. Reg. 42/25, and a deputy judge may preside on a claim up to the same amount. Interest and costs sit outside the ceiling, so a claim at the limit does not outgrow the court as interest accrues.

A dispute worth more than the limit has two routes: the excess may be abandoned — the action proceeds for the maximum and the balance is given up — or the matter goes to the Superior Court. What rule 6.02 forbids is dividing one cause of action into two or more actions to bring it within the court's jurisdiction.

The two-year limitation period

Section 4 of the Limitations Act, 2002 provides that a proceeding shall not be commenced in respect of a claim after the second anniversary of the day on which the claim was discovered. Discovery, under section 5, is not always the day the events happened: the clock starts when the loss was first known to have occurred and to have been caused by the defendant — or on the day a reasonable person ought to have known it.

That distinction decides whether an action can be brought at all. A defect that became apparent long after the work was done and an invoice that went unpaid on a known date do not start from the same day.

Who may represent a party

A party may act in person, or be represented by a lawyer or by a paralegal licensed by the Law Society of Ontario. The court records which it is: rule 7.01 requires a represented plaintiff's claim to state the representative's name, contact details and Law Society of Ontario registration number, and that number can be checked against the Law Society's public directory.

The Plaintiff's Claim: what the form has to contain

An action is commenced by filing a plaintiff's claim — Form 7A — with the clerk, together with a copy for each defendant, or electronically. A filing fee set by regulation is payable to the court. The rule requires the claim to set out, in concise and non-technical language:

• the full names of the parties and, where it matters, the capacity in which they sue or are sued;
• the nature of the claim with reasonable certainty and detail, including the date, place and nature of the occurrences the claim is based on;
• the amount claimed and the relief requested;
• contact details for the plaintiff or the representative, with the registration number where there is one;
• the address where the plaintiff believes the defendant can be served.

The documents relied on — the contract, the invoices, the estimates, the correspondence — are attached to the claim itself.

Service, and the twenty days that follow

Once issued, the claim must be served on each defendant personally under rule 8.02, or by one of the alternatives in rule 8.03, within six months after the date it is issued. The court may extend that time, before or after the six months have run.

A defendant who disputes the claim serves and files a defence — Form 9A — within 20 days of being served. A defendant may also bring a claim of their own, Form 10A, within 20 days after the defence is filed, or later with leave. If no defence arrives in time, the clerk may note the defendant in default on a request supported by proof of service, and judgment may follow without a trial.

The settlement conference

A settlement conference is held in every defended action, and rule 13.01 requires it within 90 days after the first defence is filed. The clerk fixes the date and serves notice with a list of proposed witnesses. It is held before a judge or deputy judge and it is not a trial: no evidence is given under oath and nothing said there binds the parties.

Its purpose is to resolve the action or narrow the dispute, ensure each side has the other's documents, and schedule what remains. The presiding judge may give a non-binding opinion on the strengths and weaknesses of each position. A substantial share of defended actions end here — which is why preparing for it is the work a trial would need, brought forward several months.

Trial, and what happens after judgment

An action that does not resolve is set down for trial. Witnesses give evidence under oath or affirmation and may be cross-examined. Procedure is simplified compared with the Superior Court, but the party bringing the action still has to prove both liability and the amount.

A judgment is an order to pay — it is not a payment. Where money does not follow, collection is a separate stage with its own filings: garnishment of wages or a bank account, a writ of seizure and sale, or an examination of the debtor. That stage is worth weighing before an action is started: a judgment against a defendant with nothing to take remains unpaid.

What representation involves

• Checking the jurisdiction first — whether the amount and the subject matter belong in this court, and whether the limitation period still permits the action.
• Drafting the claim so the occurrences, dates and amounts meet the detail the rule demands, with the documents attached rather than promised.
• Issuing and serving, and dealing with a defendant who is not at the address given or who avoids service.
• Reading the defence and any defendant's claim, and answering the latter inside its own timeline.
• Preparing the settlement conference — disclosure, the list of proposed witnesses, and a clear account of what is actually in dispute.
• Appearing at the settlement conference and, where the action is not resolved there, at trial.
• Taking the enforcement steps that follow a judgment when payment does not arrive on its own.

Who this service is for

Enquiries generally come from a business carrying invoices that were never paid; from a homeowner or contractor after work paid for and left unfinished; from someone whose deposit was not returned when an arrangement fell through. What is most useful at a first call is short: the documents that show the agreement and the amount, and the date the problem first became apparent.

Where the dispute turns on the terms of an agreement, our work on contracts covers drafting, review and breach; civil claims and damages within this court's limit are set out under civil law and damages, and everything the firm takes on is listed under practice areas.

Speaking to us

Karb Law is in Richmond Hill and acts in Small Claims Court matters across the Greater Toronto Area. Because the limitation period runs from the day a claim was discovered rather than the day an invoice was issued, establishing that date early matters more than anything else at the outset. You can contact the office, request a free assessment, or read about the firm and its licensed paralegal.