Small Claims Court Toronto

Small claims courts are also known as magistrate courts or county courts, depending on where you live. Small claims courts have as their purpose to try civil cases between private parties; these cases involve monetary amounts that are not particularly large. These courts also sometimes handle other functions, and this is also true in Toronto. Small claims courts do operate independently of superior courts.

The types of claims presented before these types of courts are those of values not exceeding $25,000. Wages owed in lieu of notice by an employer, tenant and landlord disputes, compensation for poor service rendered like in the case of plumbers and compensation for the damage of delivered goods like DVD players are some of the claims brought before a small claims court.

If you need to file a claim in small claims court, first, attempts to settle things yourself. You must have proof that you’ve tried to do so, and if you don’t, the court is going to penalize you. Try to negotiate an amicable solution with the other party in your case first. If you try for a month and have come to no solution, you’ve met your legal requirement. If that happens, write down everything you know about your case, and contact a lawyer. Your lawyer will work on your behalf, presenting this information to the court. In addition, you’ll need to tell the other party that you’re going to go to court to resolve this.

You’ll need to bring some things with you to small claims court when you present your case. First of all, you will need to prepare two copies of your claim, one for the court and one for yourself. You will need to pay court fees to file a claim, and the claim form will then be served on the defendant, the other party in your case. You can also present the form to the defendant once the court has stamped the document if you so choose. Other documentation, too, may be involved in your small claims case.

Once the court decides to hear the case, you will need to wait for notification for a final hearing. You will also be required to send copies of the documents you will be presenting at least a fortnight before the hearing takes place. Failure to do so will result in your case being postponed and as a penalty, you may have to incur all the costs of the suit. Your legal representation should assist you through these procedures and advise you accordingly. The court will then set the date for a hearing. If you will not be able to attend the hearing, you need to put this in writing, stating your reasons before sending it to the court.

Trying to wend your way through small claims court by yourself can be very frustrating if you don’t have proper legal help. The final decision on the case IS final and isn’t subject to appeal unless something has been found not to be proper in the way proceedings were handled, or if the court did not follow law as it applied to the claim. A competent lawyer will be able to help you navigate through this difficult and sometimes confusing series of events. If the defendant does not comply, and doesn’t act in accordance with the court’s decision, this may also end up wasting your time and you have to continue proceedings in a higher court. In addition, you will not collect on any monies owed you that were the focus of your original claim. It’s very important, therefore, that you get proper legal representation so that you don’t have these problems.

Before you hire a lawyer, make sure you check Melissa Weber website, she is aSmall claims court Toronto that specializes in the GTA area