Suing Someone in Small Claims Court

How do you start an action in Small Claims Court?

You must complete a Notice of Claim. You can complete the form a number of ways:

• You can get the form by going to the Small Claims Court registry and asking for one, or you can telephone or write and ask them to send you one. The main phone number is 250.356.1478.
• You can download the form from the Ministry of Attorney General’s Small Claims Court website at www.ag.gov.bc.ca/courts/small_claims/.
• You can complete this and other Small Claims Court forms online at https://eservice.ag.gov.bc.ca/FilingAssistant/ and then print the form.

In your Notice of Claim, you must describe what happened leading to the lawsuit and where it happened, and state how much money you’re seeking or what other remedy you’re asking for.

You are called the “claimant.” The person or company you are suing is called the “defendant.” Be careful to name the defendant properly. If it’s not done exactly right, you might not be able to get your money.

What if the defendant is a company?

If you’re suing a company, you must use the legal name of that company. To find the correct name of a company, you have to obtain a company search from the Corporate Registry, located at 940 Blanshard Street in Victoria. The mailing address is PO Box 9431, Station Provincial Government, Victoria, BC, V8W 9V3. Phone the Corporate Registry at 250.387.5101 for more details. Your local government agent’s office or a private title search company can also conduct a company search. Also see the Corporate Registry’s website at www.bcregistryservices.gov.bc.ca/bcreg/corppg/index.page for conducting an online search through Corporate Online.

Where do you file your Notice of Claim?

You must “file” your Notice of Claim in the proper Small Claims Court registry. To “file” the claim means to submit it to the court registry and enter it in the court records. If the defendant is a company, you also need to file a copy of your company search. For information about the location of the proper court registry for filing your claim, refer to script [What is Small Claims Court (Script 165)|165] on “What is Small Claims Court?” You also have to pay a filing fee, which you’ll get back from the defendant if you win.

How do you notify the defendant of your claim?

The next step is to “serve” the Notice of Claim (and blank Reply form) on the defendant. To “serve” a document means getting it to the defendant. There are different ways to serve a defendant, depending on whether the defendant is a person, a company or an unincorporated business or partnership. For example, if the defendant is a person, you can serve them by personally giving the Notice of Claim to them, having someone else give it to them, or sending it to them by registered mail. See the Small Claims Rules for the proper way to serve the defendant you are suing.

After the defendant has been served, you must complete a Certificate of Service to prove that the defendant has been properly served.

How long do you have to serve your Notice of Claim?

After you’ve filed your Notice of Claim, you have 12 months to serve it on the defendant. If your 12 months are just about up, you can apply to the court to renew your Notice of Claim and extend the time allowed for serving the defendant. (Once the 12 months have gone by, your Notice of Claims expires, but you can still apply to the court to try and renew it.)

When does the defendant have to respond to your claim?

After the defendant has been served, the defendant must file a Reply. The defendant has 14 days to file a Reply if they live in BC. A defendant who is out of province has 30 days.

How can the defendant respond?

There are several ways. The defendant may:

• agree to pay all of your claim but not right away, or
• oppose all or part of the claim, or
• make a claim against you, called a Counterclaim.

How do you proceed if the defendant agrees to pay your claim?

In this case, you can file a Payment Order. If you don’t agree with the timing of when the defendant agrees to pay, you can ask for a payment hearing after filing your Payment Order so the court can set a Payment Schedule.

What happens if the defendant opposes your claim?

The defendant may file a Reply disputing all or part of your claim. The Small Claims Court registry will send you a copy. Refer to script [Being Sued in Small Claims Court (Script 167)|167] on "Being Sued in Small Claims Court" for more on what the defendant has to do.

The registry then usually sets a date for a 45-minute meeting called a “settlement conference,” which a judge also attends. The purpose of the settlement conference is to try to resolve some or all of the issues between you and the defendant before going to trial. The judge will give their opinion of the case.

In some registries – namely, Surrey, North Vancouver, Victoria, Nanaimo and Vancouver Robson Square – you and the defendant may have to attend a free session of mediation before the settlement conference. (The Small Claims Rules tell you whether mediation is mandatory or optional, depending on the type and amount of claim.) The mediator will try to help you and the defendant to come to an agreement about some or all of the disputed matters.

If the issues aren’t fully resolved at the settlement conference or mediation, then the matter will be set for trial.

The procedure is different for very small claims up to $5,000 (other than personal injury claims) filed in the Vancouver Robson Square and Richmond registries. These claims go straight to a simplified one-hour trial before an experienced lawyer who is a justice of the peace (also called an “adjudicator”). There is no pre-trial settlement conference or mediation. And all financial debt claims in these two registries, where the claimant is in the business of lending money, go straight to a half-hour trial.

What should you do if the defendant makes a Counterclaim against you?

You must file a Reply to the Counterclaim. If you live in BC, you have 14 days after getting the Counterclaim to file your Reply to it.

Can the defendant offer to resolve the claim directly with you?

In some cases, the defendant may contact you directly and offer to pay you or try to settle your claim in some way. If that happens, you’re free to come to whatever arrangement you like. If you’re happy with the defendant’s offer, you don’t have to continue with your lawsuit. You can file a Consent Order or Payment Order, and that ends the action.

What happens if the defendant doesn’t respond in time?

If the defendant doesn’t file a Reply within the specified time limits or contact you to resolve the claim, you can file a form asking the court for a Default Order. If the claim is for a debt, the Default Order may be made without you having to go to a hearing. But if the claim isn’t for a debt, the Small Claims Court registry must schedule a default hearing date so a judge can determine the amount you’re entitled to get.

Summary

To sue someone in Small Claims Court, you must file a Notice of Claim and serve it on them. The defendant may then contact you and offer to pay your claim. If the defendant doesn’t, the defendant has 14 days to file a Reply. After a Reply is filed, many Small Claims Court registries set a date for a settlement conference (and in some cases, mediation) to see if your claim can be resolved without going to trial. Some registries have simplified trial procedures for really small and certain financial claims, where you go straight to a short trial. If the defendant doesn’t respond to your claim or file a Reply within 14 days, you can get a default judgment against the defendant by asking for a Default Order or a default hearing date.

Where can you get more information?

• Most of the instructions you need are on the forms found at the Small Claims Court registry or on the Small Claims Court website, which is www.ag.gov.bc.ca/courts/small_claims/.
• If you have any questions, talk to the Small Claims Court staff or read over one of the Small Claims Court booklets available at the registry, at your local public library, and on the Small Claims Court website.
• Also see the other Dial-A-Law scripts in this Small Claims Court series.

[updated November 2013]

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In law, the re-examination of a term of an order or agreement, usually to determine whether the term remains fair and appropriate in light of the circumstances prevailing at the time of the review. In family law, particularly the review of an order or agreement provided for the payment of spousal support. See "de novo," "family law agreements," "order" and "spousal support."

In law, to formally deliver documents to a person in a manner that complies with the rules of court. Service may be ordinary (mailed or delivered to a litigant's address for service), personal (hand-delivered to a person), or substituted (performed in a way other than the rules normally require). See "address for delivery," "ordinary service," "personal service" and "substituted service."

A court proceeding in which one party sues another for a specific remedy or relief, also called a "lawsuit" or a "case." An action for divorce, for example, is a court proceeding in which the claimant sues the respondent for the relief of a divorce order.

(1) A central office, located in each judicial district, at which the court files for each court proceeding in that district are maintained, and at which legal documents can be filed, searched, and reviewed, or (2) a courthouse.

The person who starts a court proceeding seeking an order for a specific remedy or relief against another person, the respondent. See "action" and "respondent."

In law, someone acting on behalf of someone else, with that person's express permission and normally at their express direction.

In law, a document demonstrating ownership of a thing. See "ownership."

(1) The assertion of a legal right to an order or to a thing; (2) the remedy or relief sought by a party to a court proceeding.

A central office, located in each judicial district, at which the court files for each court proceeding in that district are maintained, and at which legal documents can be filed, searched and reviewed.

A legal document required by the Provincial Court Family Rules to respond to a claim made in an applicant's Application to Obtain an Order. See "applicant," "Application to Obtain an Order," "claim" and "Counterclaim."

(1) In law, a court proceeding; a lawsuit; an action; a cause of action; a claim. (2) A historic decision of the court; case law. See "action," "case law, " "court proceeding," and "precedent."

In law, any proceeding before a judicial official to determine questions of law and questions of fact, including the hearing of an application and the hearing of a trial. See "decision."

A resolution of one or more issues in a court proceeding or legal dispute with the agreement of the parties to the proceeding or dispute, usually recorded in a written agreement or in an order that all parties agree the court should make. A court proceeding can be settled at any time before the conclusion of trial. See "action," "consent order," "family law agreements" and "offer."

A person appointed by the federal or provincial government to manage and decide court proceedings in an impartial manner, independent of influence by the parties, the government, or agents of the government. The decisions of a judge are binding upon the parties to the proceeding, subject to appeal.

The testing of the claims in a court proceeding at a formal hearing before a judge with the jurisdiction to hear the proceeding. The parties present their evidence and arguments to the judge, who then makes a decision resolving the parties' claims against one another that is final and binding on the parties unless successfully appealed. See "action," "appeal," "argument," "claim," "evidence" and "jurisdiction."

In law, (1) a lawyer's advice to their client, (2) a lawyer's analysis of a legal problem, or (3) the views of an expert on an issue in an action. See "expert evidence" and "opinion evidence."

A dispute resolution process in which a specially-trained neutral person facilitates discussions between the parties to a legal dispute and helps them reach a compromise settling the dispute. See "alternative dispute resolution" and "family law mediator."

A person licensed to practice law in a particular jurisdiction by that jurisdiction's law society. See "barrister and solicitor."

A court official appointed by the provincial government with limited decision-making authority and jurisdiction, usually charged with managing court schedules, the terms of release of arrested persons, and other administrative tasks with a discretionary element. See "judge" and "jurisdiction."

A sum of money or an obligation owed by one person to another. A "debtor" is a person responsible for paying a debt; a "creditor" is the person to whom the debt is owed.

In contract law, the expression, either orally or in writing, of a willingness to be bound by a proposed agreement, contract, or settlement. See "offer to settle."

Under the Family Law Act, a term that describes the time a person who is not a guardian of a child, including a parent who is not a guardian, has with that child. Under the Divorce Act, a term that describes the time a person who is not a married spouse has with a child. See "guardian" and "parental responsibilities."

In law, failing to do something which is either optional or mandatory, such as failing to respond to an application or to a claim within the time limits set out in the rules of court. See "default judgment."

A judgment obtained by a claimant following the respondent's failure to reply to the claimant's claim within the proper time from service. In the Supreme Court, a respondent who has been properly served with a Notice of Family Claim has 30 days to file a Response to Family Claim. Once those 30 days have elapsed without the response being served on the claimant, the claimant may apply to the court for a judgment in default. This is the basis for divorce orders made under the desk order divorce process. See "desk order divorce" and "Response to Family Claim."

In law, the directions given by a client to their lawyer about either the conduct of their affairs or a court proceeding.