Going To Small Claims Court In 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 has decided it’s going to hear your case, you’ll be notified of a final hearing, and the data will happen. Two weeks before the final hearing, send any copies of documents you’ll be presenting during your case to the court. Again, if you don’t send these documents, your case is going to be postponed and you’ll incur penalties as well. One of the things that may happen is that you may have to pay the cost of the suit in their entirety. Your lawyer will be able to help you navigate your way through this process, and tell you what happens next. The court will set a hearing date, and if you can’t attend the hearing, you’ll need to send this notification to them in writing and state your reasons as to why you can’t attend.
It can be very frustrating indeed if you don’t have proper legal representation. When the verdict is handed down, it is deemed final. It’s not subject to appeal unless an irregularity has been found in the proceedings or the court did not adhere to the law as it pertained to claim. Only a good lawyer is going to be able to help you find your way through this process. If the defendant is a cooperative, and refuses to cooperate with the court’s ruling, you’ll waste your time and money in small claims court and may force transfer to a higher court. Besides that, you may lose out on monies owed you that were the original subject of your claim. Because of that, it’s very important that you get a good lawyer so that you don’t experience these difficulties.
Before you hire a lawyer, make sure you check Melissa Weber website, she is aSmall claims court that specializes in the GTA area
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