Suing Multiple Defendants in Ontario Small Claims Court

Sometimes more than one person or business bears responsibility for the same debt or dispute — a contractor and their company, two business partners, or several people who co-signed an agreement. Ontario's Small Claims Court allows a plaintiff to name more than one defendant in a single claim, but it changes how liability, service, and collection work.

Suing multiple defendants in Small Claims Court can strengthen your chances of actually getting paid — but only if you understand how responsibility is divided, or not divided, among the people you sue.

This guide covers when to name multiple defendants, how liability among them typically works, and what changes procedurally once more than one party is involved.

Why Sue More Than One Defendant

Common situations where a plaintiff reasonably names multiple defendants include:

• A contract signed by more than one person or entity
• A small business operated informally, where it is unclear whether the individual, a corporation, or both should be responsible
• A dispute involving more than one person who caused the same loss — for example, two contractors on the same job
• Uncertainty over which of several related parties is legally liable, where naming more than one preserves your position

Naming multiple defendants as alternatives is a normal and accepted litigation strategy when you are not certain, at the outset, exactly which party is ultimately responsible.

Joint and Several Liability, Explained

When more than one defendant is found liable for the same claim, Ontario law commonly applies the concept of joint and several liability. In plain terms, that means:

• Each liable defendant can be responsible for the entire judgment amount, not just an equal share
• The plaintiff can choose to pursue whichever defendant is easiest to collect from — the one with money, a job, or seizable assets — rather than chasing each defendant for a fraction of the debt
• Defendants who pay more than their fair share can seek contribution from the others, but that is a separate issue between the defendants and does not affect the plaintiff's right to collect

This is a significant advantage for plaintiffs: if one defendant is judgment-proof (no income or assets) but another is not, you are not stuck only recovering a partial amount from the defendant who cannot pay.

Naming and Serving Every Defendant

Each defendant in a Small Claims action is a separate party who must be:

• Named accurately, using their correct legal name — an individual's full legal name, or a company's registered corporate name
• Served with the Plaintiff's Claim individually, following the court's service rules
• Given the opportunity to file their own defence

A defendant who is never properly served is not bound by the outcome, so accuracy and proper service for each named party matters as much as getting the claim itself right.

What Changes at the Settlement Conference

A settlement conference is mandatory before a defended Small Claims matter proceeds to trial. With multiple defendants, that conference becomes more complex: defendants may take different positions, blame each other, or reach separate settlements with the plaintiff while the claim continues against the rest. It is common for one defendant to settle out while the case proceeds against another.

Defendants can also raise their own disputes against each other within the same action — for example, a defendant who believes a co-defendant is actually the one responsible can raise that dispute as part of the same proceeding rather than starting a separate case.

Collecting Once You Have Judgment

If you obtain judgment against multiple defendants, joint and several liability means you can direct your enforcement efforts — garnishment, a writ of seizure and sale, or an examination of the debtor — at whichever defendant is realistically collectible, without having to divide your enforcement proportionally among all of them.

Frequently asked questions