FILING A PLAINTIFF'S CLAIM

[Rule 7]

Where should I file the claim? (include court addresses and listings in Ontario)

• Where the problem occurred
• Where the defendant lives or carries on business or
• The nearest court to where the defendant lives of carries on business

In all circumstances you must file an Affidavit for Jurisdiction (Form 11A) with the court

Filing A Claim

• Ensure that you have the correct court with the proper jurisdiction in which your claim has occurred
• Ensure you have the correct address and name of the business(s) or person(s) you are naming in your claim

Plaintiff’s Claim (Form 7A) Guide

Page 1

Plaintiff's Box:

Complete the plaintiff box with your personal information and do not fill in the boxes for the representative.

For those with a representative: Fill in the name(s) or the company name of the plaintiff. Fill in the address as c/o then the representative’s name and contact information of the representative. The representative will fill in the information remaining.

Defendant’s Box:

Page 2

Complete all relevant information on the page in clear and concise numerical format.

• In three short sentences include the basis of the claim, where the event happened and when it happened.
• In numerical format include the relevant details of the claim in chronological order as well as any other relevant evidence intending to be used in the proceeding.

*Remember when drafting to use clear, precise and concise language (statements of FACT). Keep it simple and to the point in order to eliminate ambiguity as much as possible.

*Prepare several drafts of the claim in order to weed out inaccuracies, bad grammar, poor spelling and other technical errors in order to ensure the version submitted to the court is perfect.

Once you have filed the claim you must then serve the defendant(s) with notice of the proceeding with an Affidavit of Service (Form 8A), which is on the website. Ensure who’s responsibility it is to serve the document before you serve it just in case. It is advisable that you hire another person who has no interest in the matter preferably a process server to serve your claim upon the defendant(s) in case there is a dispute as to whether or not service occurred.

In addition you must proceed with scheduling a trial in order to avoid dismissal of the claim.

Page 3

Calculations:

Determine the principal amount that is due. Then look up the going interest rate for claims where a previous interest rate has not been established on the Courts of Justice Act website at here and look up the interest rate of the quarter in which the amount of the claim became due. The interest rates have been held at 3% since 2011 and were 2% in 2010, all previous years are listed in the chart.

NOTE: Different small claims courts have different policies as to when post-judgment interest starts; some start the count from the judgment day and some calculate on the day following judgment therefore you must check with the individual small claims courts as to when you need to start counting days for your interest calculation.

NEXT: When you fill out the Plaintiff's Claim the next step is to file it with the court.

Upon going into court with the original document, you will file it with the clerk. The clerk should then stamp and date the original copy and should give you a stamped and dated copy as well as a copy for the defendant(s).

You will also need to pay $75.00 to the clerk to file the claim if you are an infrequent claimant. If you are a frequent claimant the cost will be $145.00 to file the claim.