Three steps must be followed pursuant to the O. Reg. 258/98: Rules of The Small Claims Court To resolve a conflict between two parties for money or the return of personal property valued at $35, 000 or less. This section explains how to submit a claim with the Small Claims Court (“the Court”), the purpose of a settlement conference, and the trial.
A plaintiff is an individual in a matter that is pleading something and the one that starts a claim. The plaintiff must file a claim online or in person at the Small Claims Court, and they must pay the court fees. The other party is the Defendant. The claim must be served in person to the individual or business or mailed to the Defendant. This procedure is called serving the defence. The defence must respond to the claim by filing their claim and paying the fees for filing their defence.
Within 90 days after the defendant files the claim, all parties will receive a notice regarding a settlement conference. The purpose of a settlement conference is for both parties to provide their perspective and obtain an opinion from a deputy judge. All parties will have the opportunity to complete a Proposed Witnessed Document, which should be filed within 14 days before the designated settlement conference. The plaintiff and defendant must serve each other copies of additional documents that were not originally attached to the claim 14 days before the settlement conference.
If the matter is not resolved through a mutual agreement at the settlement conference, it will proceed to trial with a new judge. Both parties at the hearing will explain their argument, and witnesses can be called to testify for each party. The judge will make a final decision, which is the judgement.
Finally, the small Claims Court judgment will only indicate who owes what to who, but it does not say how to get the owing amount from a debtor. Creditor has to enforce the judgment, there are several tools available to enforce a judgment. Some of the tools that are available for creditors to protect their interests are garnishment, seizure and sale land, personal property, and an examination hearing.
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