DISCLAIMERS:

Information on this website does not constitute legal advice. Legal advice can only be provided when fully retained and when you provide full disclosure of your specific issue.

Sending email or voicemail communications to our office DOES NOT establish a paralegal-client relationship.

No paralegal-client relationship is created by the information provided here or by any consultation with Miller Paralegal Services until Representation and Retainer Agreements are fully executed by both the client and Miller Paralegal Services.

 

If someone starts an action against you in Small Claims Court, by what are called either a Plaintiff’s Claim or a Defendant’s Claim, you are what is called the Defendant.

If you ignore the Claim and do nothing, the other side (the Plaintiff) will be able to obtain Judgment against you without further notice and without a full Trial.  You must file a Defence within 20 days of being served with the Claim otherwise you could forgo your right to defend.

You can either pay the amount claimed or decide to fight the matter in court.   In deciding to pay instead of fighting the matter in Court, you may want to consider the costs consequences.  These include your time away from work, your stress/anxiety, legal fees, filing fees and other disbursements.

TO REQUEST A CONSULTATION ON YOUR MATTER, contact Nancy via phone or email.

 

If you wish to contest the Claim, you need to:

  • review the Claim and documents served,
  • consider what you agree with (if anything) and what you wish to refute,
  • what you need to prove your case
  • what documents or witnesses will you need to support your version of the events.

Of course that will be determined by what is the basis of the Claim.

Documents might include:

  • quotes/estimates, contracts, invoices,
  • photographs,
  • banking records,
  • emails, letter correspondence, text messages, etc.
  • may also need to obtain reports from expert witnesses, depending on your case.

When you retain Miller Paralegal Services, you need to provide all of this information and documentation as soon as possible after service of the Claim.  It is imperative that we have sufficient time to properly research, prepare, serve and file the Defence and supporting documents as required by the Rules of the Small Claims Court.  Additional documents can be received and served throughout the process should anything else come to mind during the course of the proceeding.  Something you thought was irrelevant to the case at first might later become relevant.

 

Whether to bring a Defendant’s Claim

A Defendant’s Claim may be brought if your defence is (or includes) that:

  • someone else may be responsible for all or part of the Claim; or
  • the Plaintiff owes you for aspects that are related to the issues of the Claim.

For Miller Paralegal Services  to prepare, file and serve a Defendant’s Claim, you must provide all documents and witness information to support your position in the Defendant’s Claim.  Review the considerations of becoming a Plaintiff when making your decision.

TO REQUEST A CONSULTATION ON YOUR MATTER, contact Nancy via phone or email.

 

For the next steps in the proceeding, see Phase 2 – Settlement Conference and Negotiations.