Getting Started in Small Claims Court:

Question: How do I start a lawsuit in Ontario Small Claims Court using Form 7A?

Answer: To start a lawsuit in Ontario Small Claims Court, you prepare and issue a Plaintiff’s Claim using Form 7A, which you can access online, and you complete the basic party details while carefully writing the claim story in a clear, sensible chronology, since what you include and omit matters.   The court process rules for commencing proceedings are set out in Rule 7, so it helps to review the requirements before filing and to consider common pitfalls like counterclaims, costs, naming the wrong person, and third-party issues.   If you want support drafting the narrative and organizing your claim to avoid avoidable errors, Vagans Legal can help you get it right before you file, call (416) 473-8472.

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Commencing Proceedings and Retaining Legal Counsel for Small Claims Court

To get a lawsuit started in Small Claims Court, the preparing and issuing of the document known as a Plaintiff's Claim is required.  The Plaintiff's Claim document is a specific form, numbered and referred to as Form 7A, and is accessible online.  The main parts of the Form 7A document are quite easy to complete as such simply involves filling in a few blanks of information.  The more challenging aspect of starting a lawsuit is knowing what parts of the story to say and what parts of the story to avoid saying, if any.  There are various rules regarding the extent of information that is required.  The rules on starting a Small Claims Court lawsuit, referred to formally as commencing a proceeding, are found in Rule 7 of the Rules of the Small Claims Court.

Although people may think of Small Claims Court cases as an informal legal process, and indeed there are many Small Claims Court cases that are relatively simple enough that minimal, if any, legal training is required, there are still many concerns to consider. Concerns to carefully consider include:

• What if I lose?
• What if the Defendant brings a third party claim?
• What if I get the name of someone wrong?
• What if a counterclaim is brought?
• What if the case becomes more complicated than first expected?
• What if legal costs are awarded against me?

The concerns listed above, among others, should be very carefully reviewed before bringing a lawsuit. Understanding and carefully reviewing the potential complications, considerations, and consequences, before starting a lawsuit is highly important.