Script 166 gives information only, not legal advice. If you have a legal problem or need legal advice, you should speak to a lawyer. For the name of a lawyer to consult, call Lawyer Referral at 604.687.3221 in the lower mainland or 1.800.663.1919 elsewhere in British Columbia.

This script discusses suing someone in Small Claims Court.

To 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 website at www.ag.gov.bc.ca/courts/civil/smallclaims/.
  
• 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 or what other remedy you’re asking for. You are called the “claimant,” and 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.

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. This may be done at some Small Claims Court registries, a Government Agent’s office, through private title search companies or over the Internet through BC Online. There’s a small fee for this search. For more information, see the Corporate Registry’s web page at www.fin.gov.bc.ca/registries/corppg/ or call BC Online at 1.800.663.6102.

You have to “file” your Notice of Claim in the proper Small Claims Court registry
After completing your Notice of Claim, it must be filed. To “file” the claim means to submit it to the court registry and enter it in the court records. For information about the location of the proper court registry for filing your claim, refer to script 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.

The next step is to “serve” the Notice of Claim 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 handing the Notice of Claim to them personally, 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 you’ve properly served them.

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.

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.

There are several ways the defendant may respond.
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.

First, say the defendant agrees to pay your claim
In that 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 if the defendant files a Reply disputing all or part of your claim?
The Small Claims Court registry will send you a copy of the Reply, then set a date for a meeting called a “settlement conference,” which the judge also attends. The purpose of the settlement conference is to attempt to resolve some or all of the issues between you and the defendant before going to trial. In some registries, you and the defendant may have to attend a session of mediation before the settlement conference (there’s no cost for this). 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.

What if the defendant makes a Counterclaim against you?
Then you must file a Reply to the Counterclaim.

The defendant may 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.

But what if the defendant doesn’t respond within the time limits allowed?
If the defendant doesn’t contact you or file a Reply, 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 defendant doesn’t, the defendant has 14 days to file a Reply. After a Reply is filed, the court registry sets a date for a settlement conference (and in some cases, mediation) to see if your claim can be resolved without going to 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?

• You’ll find most of the instructions you need on the forms available at the Small Claims Court registry.
• 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 Attorney General’s website at www.ag.gov.bc.ca/courts/civil/smallclaims. 
• Also see the other Dial-A-Law scripts in this Small Claims Court series.

[updated May 2007]

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