600 plain-language Q&As about litigation. Browse below, or search the whole library.
The Hague Service Convention is an international treaty that sets out an agreed process for formally delivering legal documents between countries that…
Read the full answer →Serving a lawsuit on a corporation in Ontario generally means delivering the documents to someone who can actually accept them on the company's behalf,…
Read the full answer →Serving legal documents on someone who is a minor, or an adult who is legally incapable of managing their own affairs, generally requires more than…
Read the full answer →Ontario law allows a claim to be started against an unidentified defendant, often described in the pleading using a placeholder name such as "John Doe"…
Read the full answer →It depends on the connection between your claim and Ontario. Ontario's civil procedure rules set out specific categories of claims considered closely…
Read the full answer →Yes — a defendant who believes they weren't properly served can bring a motion challenging the validity of service, rather than simply ignoring the…
Read the full answer →Yes — suing the government generally involves additional procedural requirements beyond serving a private individual or corporation. Legal documents…
Read the full answer →Yes. Ontario procedural law allows a defendant who is sued for a debt or damages to raise a set-off — applying a cross-claim against the plaintiff to…
Read the full answer →Ontario has eliminated the limitation period for civil claims arising from sexual assault and other specified sexual misconduct in certain…
Read the full answer →A unanimous shareholder agreement (USA) is a contract, so a breach of it is generally handled through ordinary contract remedies: damages to compensate…
Read the full answer →Yes, a share buyout is one of the most common remedies Ontario courts order when oppression is found, particularly in disputes between shareholders in…
Read the full answer →Ontario's Business Corporations Act gives courts very broad discretion to craft whatever order is needed to rectify proven oppression, rather than…
Read the full answer →When a creditor uses the sheriff's office to enforce a writ of seizure and sale, the fees and costs the sheriff charges for that work are generally…
Read the full answer →Short-service employees are still entitled to common law reasonable notice, not just the ESA minimum, but the actual notice period they receive tends…
Read the full answer →Liability generally depends on exactly who controlled and was responsible for maintaining the specific spot where you fell, and whether they took…
Read the full answer →Yes. Small Claims Court in Ontario is designed for money claims up to $50,000 (exclusive of interest and costs). If someone owes you money — whether…
Read the full answer →Ontario Small Claims Court handles civil money claims up to the limit set by provincial regulation. The monetary limit has been adjusted over time by…
Read the full answer →Ontario's Small Claims Court handles civil claims up to a monetary limit, which has been set at $50,000. If your claim is for an amount equal to or…
Read the full answer →Yes, in many cases you can pursue a claim against the contractor hired to clear snow and ice, instead of or in addition to the property owner, because…
Read the full answer →Yes. Specific performance is an equitable remedy available in Ontario courts that orders the breaching party to actually carry out what they promised,…
Read the full answer →Specific performance of a contract for the sale of goods is available in Ontario, but it is granted far less readily than for real property. Courts…
Read the full answer →It depends heavily on what actually happened. Participants in a recreational sport are generally taken to accept the ordinary risks that are simply…
Read the full answer →Standard form (or "click-wrap" / "sign here") contracts are common and generally enforceable in Ontario, even when the signing party has no real…
Read the full answer →Once a duty of care is established, Ontario courts measure whether it was breached against an objective "reasonable person" standard - not what the…
Read the full answer →Standard of review describes how closely an appeal court will scrutinize the decision being appealed, and it generally depends on what kind of error is…
Read the full answer →Yes, and it is much shorter and stricter than the ordinary two-year limitation period for personal injury claims. Under the Municipal Act, 2001, if you…
Read the full answer →Claims involving real property in Ontario can engage different limitation rules depending on what the claim is about. The standard two-year…
Read the full answer →Not quite - the burden works somewhat differently. A store does not need to prove the premises were flawless at every single moment, but under the…
Read the full answer →A lump sum settlement means you receive the full agreed amount in a single payment, usually shortly after the settlement is finalized. A structured…
Read the full answer →Yes. The Construction Act's lien rights extend down the full contracting chain on a project, so a sub-subcontractor or a supplier to a subcontractor…
Read the full answer →Subrogation is the right your insurer gets, after paying your claim, to step into your shoes and pursue the person actually responsible for your loss…
Read the full answer →Yes — Ontario courts can order substituted service, allowing a plaintiff to notify a defendant using a method other than personal, in-hand delivery,…
Read the full answer →Yes. An appraiser retained to value a property owes a duty to apply accepted valuation methods competently and to reach a reasonably supportable…
Read the full answer →Sometimes, but Ontario courts have generally limited an auditor's duty of care to the corporation itself rather than to every individual shareholder or…
Read the full answer →Yes. Engineers and architects are regulated professionals who owe a duty to design and review work to the standard of a reasonably competent member of…
Read the full answer →Yes, if the advice was unsuitable for your circumstances and caused you a loss you wouldn't otherwise have suffered. Financial advisors are subject to…
Read the full answer →Suing for a contract breach in Ontario generally follows several stages. First, send a written demand letter setting out what the other party did wrong…
Read the full answer →Yes, you can sue the Ontario provincial government or a municipality, but special rules apply. The province and its Crown agencies can be sued in…
Read the full answer →Potentially, yes. A home inspection is both a contract and a professional service, so a claim against an inspector who missed an obvious, visible…
Read the full answer →Yes. An insurance broker's job is to understand your risk and either obtain coverage that reasonably meets your needs or clearly tell you what isn't…
Read the full answer →Yes. An insurance policy is a contract, and if your insurer denies a claim you believe is properly covered, you can sue for breach of that contract to…
Read the full answer →Yes. Real estate lawyers handle closings under tight deadlines with real money and legal title at stake, and mistakes like failing to catch a title…
Read the full answer →Yes. Mortgage brokers in Ontario are licensed professionals who owe their clients a duty to exercise reasonable skill and care when recommending a…
Read the full answer →Yes. Licensed paralegals in Ontario are regulated by the Law Society of Ontario and can represent clients within their permitted scope of practice,…
Read the full answer →Yes. A lawyer who handles your matter negligently - missing a limitation period, giving clearly wrong advice, botching a closing - can be sued for…
Read the full answer →Yes. A property manager engaged to look after maintenance, tenant relations, insurance, or building finances owes a duty to perform those services to…
Read the full answer →Yes, if the agent's advice fell below what a reasonably competent agent would have given in the same situation, and that failure actually cost you…
Read the full answer →Yes, if the preparer's work fell below what a reasonably competent tax preparer would have done and that caused you a loss beyond the tax you…
Read the full answer →Yes, there are special procedural requirements when suing Ontario government bodies that go beyond the standard two-year limitation period under the…
Read the full answer →A summary judgment motion is a way to resolve a civil case — or a significant part of it — without going through a full trial. Under Ontario's Rules of…
Read the full answer →Whether settlement proceeds are taxable in Canada depends primarily on what the money is compensating for, not simply on the fact that it came from a…
Read the full answer →Often, yes. Unless your employment contract specifically allows for temporary layoffs, most Ontario employees do not have an implied right built into…
Read the full answer →Yes, a properly drafted termination clause can limit an employee to less than full common law reasonable notice, potentially down to the Employment…
Read the full answer →The thin skull rule means a defendant who negligently injures you must compensate you for the full extent of the harm actually caused, even if you had…
Read the full answer →Yes, in Ontario a defendant in a lawsuit can bring in a third party — someone not already a party to the action — by issuing a Third Party Claim under…
Read the full answer →A "time is of the essence" clause in an Ontario contract means that the stated deadlines are strict conditions of the contract, not merely targets. If…
Read the full answer →Yes, but a reduced one. The Occupiers' Liability Act recognizes that the duty owed to someone on a property without permission is narrower than the…
Read the full answer →Yes. Truth, sometimes called justification, is a complete defence to a defamation claim in Ontario - if the defendant can prove the statement was…
Read the full answer →Ontario's Limitations Act, 2002 sets out two different clocks that can apply to the same claim. The basic two-year limitation period runs from the day…
Read the full answer →In Ontario examinations for discovery, an undertaking is a promise made during the examination to provide specific information, documents, or answers…
Read the full answer →Generally, no, unless the employment contract or a clear, established policy specifically allows for it. An employer that suspends an employee without…
Read the full answer →Ontario's Superior Court recognizes that some situations genuinely can't wait for the normal motion scheduling timeline — an asset about to be sold or…
Read the full answer →Verbal contracts are generally enforceable in Ontario — the law does not require most contracts to be in writing to be valid. What matters is that…
Read the full answer →An employer can be held vicariously liable for an employee's negligence when the wrongdoing occurred within the course and scope of employment -…
Read the full answer →Voluntary assumption of risk, sometimes called volenti, is a defence where the defendant argues that you did not just know about a risk and proceed…
Read the full answer →Yes. Rights under a contract can be waived — intentionally or inadvertently — through words, conduct, or a course of dealing that the other party…
Read the full answer →Often, yes - a properly drafted, clearly presented waiver can bar or limit a negligence claim in Ontario for activities like gym use, adventure sports,…
Read the full answer →Pleadings are the formal written documents that define the dispute between the parties at the outset of a lawsuit. In Ontario civil litigation,…
Read the full answer →Undertakings are promises made during an examination for discovery to provide information or documents that you do not have on hand at the time of…
Read the full answer →Ontario's Execution Act provides a list of personal property that is exempt from seizure under a writ of execution. These exemptions exist to ensure…
Read the full answer →Under Ontario's Limitations Act, a claim is "discovered" — and the two-year clock starts — on the earliest day you knew or ought reasonably to have…
Read the full answer →In Ontario civil litigation, each party must produce all documents in their possession, custody, or power that are relevant to the matters in dispute —…
Read the full answer →Small Claims Court trials in Ontario follow simplified evidence rules compared to the Superior Court, but you still need to present credible proof of…
Read the full answer →Once both parties accept a settlement, the next step is to formalize it so it becomes legally binding and enforceable. In Ontario, this typically means…
Read the full answer →If the other side does not respond to your demand letter by the deadline you set, you generally have two options: send a follow-up final demand or…
Read the full answer →Winning a Small Claims Court judgment against someone who has no money or assets — sometimes called a "judgment-proof" debtor — is a frustrating but…
Read the full answer →A settlement conference is a mandatory step in Small Claims Court proceedings in Ontario once a Defence has been filed. It takes place before a deputy…
Read the full answer →At a civil trial in Ontario Superior Court, each side presents their evidence and arguments before a judge, who then decides the outcome. There is no…
Read the full answer →A typical Ontario mediation session begins with all parties and their lawyers gathering in a meeting room, either in person or by video conference. The…
Read the full answer →A pre-trial conference is a meeting held before trial, presided over by a judge or case management master, where the parties discuss the issues in…
Read the full answer →A Settlement Conference is a mandatory step in most contested Small Claims Court cases in Ontario. It is an informal meeting held before a deputy judge…
Read the full answer →When a debtor files for bankruptcy in Canada under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, an automatic stay of proceedings takes effect immediately. This…
Read the full answer →Ignoring debt collectors does not make the debt disappear. In Ontario, if a creditor or its collection agency continues to hold a valid, time-limited…
Read the full answer →If a debtor leaves Ontario before you complete enforcement, your Ontario judgment remains valid — it does not expire because the debtor moved. However,…
Read the full answer →This is a legally risky approach and you should get legal advice before doing it. In Ontario, and under the Criminal Code of Canada, threatening to…
Read the full answer →Missing a Small Claims Court date can have serious consequences depending on which side you are on and which type of hearing you miss. If you are the…
Read the full answer →A breach of contract happens when one party to a binding agreement fails to do what they promised — or does something they agreed not to do. In…
Read the full answer →A certificate of judgment is an official court document that certifies the existence and terms of a court judgment. In Ontario, once a Small Claims…
Read the full answer →A Certificate of Pending Litigation (CPL) is a document registered on the title of a property in Ontario to warn prospective buyers or lenders that…
Read the full answer →In Ontario, collection agencies are licensed by FSRA and regulated under the Collection and Debt Settlement Services Act. The Act sets out specific…
Read the full answer →A consent order is a court order made with the agreement of all parties rather than as a result of contested proceedings. It has the same legal force…
Read the full answer →A consumer proposal is a formal insolvency option under federal law — the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act — administered by a Licensed Insolvency Trustee…
Read the full answer →Cross-examination is the questioning of a witness by the opposing party's lawyer after that witness has given their evidence (examination-in-chief). In…
Read the full answer →A default judgment is issued when a defendant in a civil lawsuit does not file a Statement of Defence within the required time after being served with…
Read the full answer →If a defendant is properly served and does not file a Defence within the time allowed by the Rules of the Small Claims Court, you can ask the court for…
Read the full answer →If you are served with a statement of claim in Ontario's Superior Court of Justice, you have a set time to file a document called a "statement of…
Read the full answer →A Defendant's Claim (Form 10A) is the Small Claims Court mechanism that allows a defendant to bring their own claim in the same proceeding. It is…
Read the full answer →Yes. In Ontario litigation, a defendant who is owed money by the plaintiff on a related matter can raise a defence of set-off, arguing that the amounts…
Read the full answer →A demand letter is a formal written notice you send to another party before starting a court case. It sets out what you are claiming, why you believe…
Read the full answer →A Mareva injunction — also called a freezing order — is an extraordinary pre-judgment remedy that a court can grant to prevent a defendant from…
Read the full answer →Links go to the official consolidated text. Legislation changes — confirm you are reading the current version.
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