Civil Trial Procedures

• Steps to File a Claim

  1. File a statement of claim

  2. Serve the defendant by hand delivering the papers
• Statement of claim


  A legal document outlying the plaintiff's case
• What the statement of claim includes


  • Plaintiff's full name & address
  • Defendant's full name & address
  • Amount of money being claimed
  • Brief and clear summary of the reason for the claim
• Serve the defendant


  Hand delivering the papers
• Papers must occur within the province's limitation period (2-5 years) imposed by law
• Options available to the defendant once they receive the claim

  • Accept total responsibility and settle the claim
  • File a statement of defence
  • Do nothing and ignore the claim
• Option 1: Accept total responsibility and settle the claim


  Pay the claim in fully or partially to the small claims court office
• Option 2: File a statement of defence


  1. Disagree with the claim

  2. Involve a third party
• Statement of defence


  A response to the plaintiff's complaint
• Payment into court


  If the defendant feels they owe nothing, they can disagree with the claim
• Third Party Claim


  The defendant involves someone they feel is partly or completely responsible for the dispute
• Option 3: Do nothing and ignore the claim


  Default Judgement: The plaintiff wins and the court considers the lack of response as an agreement with their claim
• Out-of-Court Settlement


  Either party can opt for an out-of-court settlement at any point
• The plaintiff must balance the proposed offer with the chance of winning the full claim at trial
• It may be better for the plaintiff to have a partial award than none
• Pre-trial conference


  1. Both parties meet with a judge

  2. Allows each party to hear a basic summary of the others case

  3. Judge provides an opinion of the possible judgement if the case moves to trial
• The pre-trial judge is not the trial judge
• If the parties can not reach an agreement during the pre-trial, a trial date is set
• Examination for Discovery


  1. A pre-trial process to learn the other side's evidence

  2. Litigants send legal documents back and forth before reaching trial
• This can take several years before reaching trial
• Both parties must disclose all relevant documents
• The Trial


  1. Plaintiff goes first, defendant second

  2. Each party presents their case by calling witnesses & testify themselves

  3. Once all evidence is presented, they each give a final argument statement
• The judge/jury will make a decision to allow none, part, or all the claim
• Factors the judge/jury must consider

  • Who is at fault, and what caused the injuries or loss?
  • Is that person totally at fault, or are both parties somewhat to blame?
  • How should damages be determined?
  • How much should the damages be?
• Class Action Lawsuits


  Lawsuits that permit groups of people who have suffered similar losses or injuries to come together in one efficient lawsuit
• Class action lawsuits are more common in Canada
• Types of class action lawsuits

  • Consumers injured because of an allegedly defective product
  • Residential schools from the 1930s-1970s
  • Manufacturing defective or hazardous products
  • Mass environmental injury
  • Mass injury