01.
Small Claims Court
The $50,000 ceiling you can no longer step over, the 15 per cent costs cap, and appeals only above $5,000.
Civil litigation lawyer in Ontario
A civil litigation lawyer in Ontario earns the fee in the first two conversations: whether you have a claim worth bringing, and which court it belongs in. The second answer decides what the first one costs.
About this practice area
Which court will hear your claim?
The amount decides it. Small Claims Court, a branch of the Superior Court of Justice, hears money and personal property claims up to $50,000. Above that the claim goes to the Superior Court itself, and up to $200,000 it must run under the simplified procedure in Rule 76 of the Rules of Civil Procedure.
This is not a formality. Small Claims has its own rules, no examinations for discovery, and capped costs awards, so a $40,000 dispute costs a fraction of a $400,000 one to run. Where a claim sits just over a threshold it is sometimes worth abandoning part of it to stay under.
Simplified procedure limits the length of discovery and of trial. That is a saving when the facts are narrow and a constraint when they are not, and it is worth knowing which you have before the claim is issued.
What we handle
Which civil litigation matters does the firm handle?
4 areas of work
All of them run from the Brampton office.
Recovering money owed2
02.
Debt collection
Getting judgment against collecting it, and the 20 per cent of wages a judge can move.
Property and construction2
03.
Construction liens
The 60 days to preserve, the 90 to perfect counted from the end of that window, and prompt payment.
04.
Failed closings
The deposit, the shortfall on a resale, the duty to mitigate, and what a certificate on title costs you.
Our approach
A clear path forward
The same four steps on every matter, whether it is a refusal at the Federal Court or a ticket at the Provincial Offences court.
Book a consultation01
Understand
We take the full history and read the documents before offering an opinion. Most bad advice comes from acting on half the facts.
02
Assess
You get a candid read on strength, timeline and cost, including when the honest answer is that you do not need to hire anyone.
03
Act
We prepare the application, the defence or the appeal properly the first time, because fixing a weak record later is harder and dearer.
04
Report
You hear from us at each stage, and you hear what a wait actually means rather than a date chosen to sound better.
Who we take
Are we the right firm for this?
3 reasons either way
Worth reading before you book. Turning away a matter we should not take costs us a file and saves you a retainer.
We are a fit if
- You have a contract, a debt or a dispute with dates you can evidence
- The other side can actually pay a judgment if you win one
- You want to know which court and which deadline before you spend
We are probably not if
- The amount in issue is smaller than the cost of proving it
- You want to sue on principle whether or not anything is recoverable
- You want a claim issued that we have told you will not succeed
Where to go next
A civil litigation lawyer in Ontario should be able to tell you three things in the first meeting: which court, which deadline, and whether the defendant can pay.
If those three answers are good the claim is usually worth bringing, and if one of them is bad it usually is not.
Also from Rathod Law Firm
Other practice areas
01.
Immigration law
Refusals, appeals and judicial review, plus sponsorship, work permits and study permits.
02.
Personal injury
Motor vehicle collisions, slip and fall, long term disability and accident benefits.
04.
Paralegal services
Small Claims Court, tribunal hearings and Provincial Offences, at paralegal rates.
05.
Notarization
Affidavits, statutory declarations, certified true copies and travel consent letters.
06.
Traffic tickets
Speeding, stunt driving, red light and careless driving charges under the Highway Traffic Act.
09.
Legal consultation
A first assessment of where you stand, what it costs, and whether you need us at all.
Common questions
What do people ask about civil litigation?
3 answered here
The ones that come up before somebody decides to ring at all. Each answer is the whole answer, not a teaser for a telephone call.
How long do you have to sue?
Two years from discovery under section 4 of the Limitations Act, 2002, with the discovery test in section 5 and an outer fifteen year wall in section 15. Discovery is the day you first knew there was a loss, that it was caused by an act or omission, whose it was, and that a proceeding was an appropriate way to deal with it.
In a commercial dispute the discovery date is frequently the argument. A debt that was demanded, promised, part paid and demanded again has no single obvious start date, and the defendant will say the clock began at the earliest one available.
A construction lien is not on this timetable at all. Under section 31 of the Construction Act a contractor's lien expires 60 days after the earlier of the publication of the certificate or declaration of substantial performance and the day the contract is completed, abandoned or terminated. Preserving it inside that window is only half: section 36(2) then gives a further 90 days to perfect it, which means starting an action and registering a certificate of action, and a preserved lien that is not perfected expires as well.
Two short clocks, both running from events rather than from when you noticed a problem. A lien matter needs a lawyer in days rather than months.
What does a case actually involve?
Pleadings first, setting out what each side says happened. Then documentary production and examinations for discovery, where the other side answers questions under oath. Then mediation, which is mandatory in some jurisdictions and useful in most. Then, if it has not resolved, a trial.
Most cases end at or before mediation. That is not a failure of the process, it is the process: discovery exists to show both sides what the evidence actually is, and once it has done that the reasonable range narrows on its own.
Costs follow the event in the Superior Court, so the losing side usually pays a portion of the winner's legal costs. It is a real risk on both sides and it belongs in the arithmetic before you issue.
When is a claim not worth bringing?
When the defendant cannot pay. A judgment is a piece of paper until it is collected, and collection against a company with no assets or an individual who has left the province can cost more than the judgment is worth. We look at recovery before we look at liability.
When the cost of proving it exceeds what it is worth, which is common under about ten thousand dollars unless the point is principle. And when a commercial relationship is worth more than the amount in issue, where the useful advice is how to settle rather than how to sue.
Speak to someone this week
Bring the contract, the correspondence and the dates. A civil litigation lawyer in Ontario can tell you which court and which deadline before you spend anything.
Law Society of Ontario licensedFederal Court filingsEnglish, Hindi, Gujarati and PunjabiFee quoted before you commit