Small Claims Court Process
Posted By Balatidis Legal Services On 09-05-2020
Small Claims Court Process from a Small Claims Court Paralegal
The process of commencing a proceeding at the Small Claims Court is complex and intricate. Below is a brief summary of the basic steps that make up the Small Claims Court process:
- Filing a Plaintiffs Claim – this is the first step to commence proceedings at the Small Claims Court. The Plaintiff drafts a Claim, files it with the Court of appropriate jurisdiction and serves it on the Defendant.
- Defence – the Defendant has a certain amount of time to draft and file a Defence with the Courthouse. The Defence must also be served on the Plaintiff.
- Settlement Conference – Once the claim and defence have been received, the Courthouse will issue a date for a settlement conference. At the settlement conference, both parties will have an opportunity to discuss their matter in front of a Judge. This is also an opportunity for the parties to try and resolve their matter. The Judge may give the parties his/her opinion on what may happen in the matter, or make an order for example, a party may be ordered to provide addition documentation.
- Trial – If the parties do not reach a settlement at the settlement conference, then the matter is to be set for trial to deal with the merits of the case.
The comments are closed.