- A lawsuit can be legally sound and financially unwise at the same time.
- Ontario's court fees are set by regulation and reviewed periodically, so treat the figures below as a snapshot — as of mid-2026 — to verify before you rely on them, not a fixed price list.
- Your realistic recovery is not just the amount you are claiming.
Every lawsuit has a break-even point: the moment where what you are spending to pursue a claim catches up to what you could realistically recover from it. Past that point, continuing to litigate stops making financial sense, even if your legal position is strong. Most people never sit down and calculate where that point is — they just keep going until the case ends, one way or another.
This guide walks through the costs that actually go into that calculation, using Ontario's published court fees as a starting reference point, and how to think about your own break-even point before you file.
Why the Break-Even Point Matters More Than "Who's Right"
A lawsuit can be legally sound and financially unwise at the same time. If the cost of pursuing a claim — court fees, legal fees, your own time, and the risk of a costs award against you if you lose — exceeds what you would realistically collect even in a best-case win, you are better off resolving the dispute another way, however unsatisfying that feels.
Working out your break-even point early lets you make that decision deliberately, rather than discovering it partway through a case you have already invested heavily in.
The Cost Side of the Ledger: What Court Fees Actually Look Like
Ontario's court fees are set by regulation and reviewed periodically, so treat the figures below as a snapshot — as of mid-2026 — to verify before you rely on them, not a fixed price list. They still give you a useful sense of scale for budgeting a claim.
| Step | Superior Court of Justice | Small Claims Court |
|---|---|---|
| Filing your claim | $243.00 (statement of claim / notice of action) | $108.00 (infrequent claimant) / $228.00 (frequent claimant) |
| Filing a defence | $194.00 | $77.00 |
| Filing a motion | Fee varies — not listed here, confirm current amount | $127.00 |
| Enforcement — garnishment | Fee varies — not listed here, confirm current amount | $144.00 (notice of garnishment) |
| Enforcement — writ of seizure and sale | Fee varies — not listed here, confirm current amount | $68.00 |
| Trial record (first filing) | $859.00 | Not applicable |
These are court fees only — they do not include legal fees, disbursements like process server costs, or your own time. For most claims, legal fees are the larger part of the cost side, which is exactly why a flat-fee arrangement can make budgeting for a claim far more predictable than hourly billing.
The Recovery Side: What You'd Actually Collect
Your realistic recovery is not just the amount you are claiming. Courts can add prejudgment interest (calculated from when the debt or damage arose) and postjudgment interest (from the date of judgment) under the Courts of Justice Act, but both rates are set quarterly by the province and change over time — confirm the current rate before building it into your math rather than assuming last year's figure still applies.
If you win, you may also recover a contribution toward your legal costs, but Ontario's discretionary "loser pays" system typically awards only part of a winning party's actual spend, usually on a partial indemnity basis — not a full reimbursement. Build your break-even estimate around your net recovery after costs, not your gross claim.
How to Estimate Your Own Break-Even Point
- Start with your realistic recovery — the amount a court would likely award, not your opening ask.
- Add likely court fees for your track (Small Claims Court, Simplified Procedure, or Superior Court), using current, verified figures.
- Estimate legal fees for the process you expect — a demand letter and negotiation, a Small Claims claim, or a full Superior Court action — these differ enormously in scope.
- Subtract what you might have to pay if you lose, including a possible costs award against you.
- Factor in collectability — a break-even calculation is meaningless if the other side cannot pay a judgment at all.
- Compare the result to simply walking away or settling for less than your full claim.
If the math still favours pursuing the claim after this exercise, you are in a much stronger position to proceed with confidence.
When the Math Doesn't Work in Your Favour
The break-even point tends to work against you when the claim amount is modest, the other side is likely to defend rather than default, and there is real uncertainty about whether they could pay even a favourable judgment. In those situations, a demand letter, negotiation, or accepting a partial settlement can sometimes leave you further ahead than pursuing the full claim through trial.
Frequently asked questions
Do court fees alone usually make a claim not worth it?
Rarely on their own — court fees are a modest part of most litigation budgets compared to legal fees and time. They matter most for very small claims, where even modest fixed costs represent a larger share of the amount at stake.
Does a flat legal fee change the break-even calculation?
Yes — a flat fee lets you know your legal cost upfront and build it directly into your break-even math, instead of estimating against an open-ended hourly bill that could grow as the case does.
What if I win but the other side never pays?
A judgment is not the same as payment. You would then need to consider enforcement steps such as garnishment or a writ of seizure and sale, which involve their own fees and effort — worth factoring into your break-even estimate from the start, not after you have already won.
Should I recalculate my break-even point as the case goes on?
Yes. As a case moves through motions, examinations, or a settlement conference, your costs and the picture of what you are likely to recover can both change — it is worth revisiting the math rather than assuming your original estimate still holds.
This is a litigation question
Start a file online — flat, published fees, reviewed by a licensed Ontario lawyer before a dollar is owed.