If I commence a claim in Small Claims Court, does this mean that the court will automatically schedu
If I commence a claim in Small Claims Court, does this mean that the court will automatically schedule a trial for me right away?
a. Yes
b. No
The correct answer is No. A trial may only be scheduled after a settlement conference occurs.
Once the plaintiff’s claim is issued and then served upon the defendant, the defendant has a certain amount of time to file and serve their Statement of Defence. If the defendant does not admit any of the claim or only part of the claim in their Statement of Defence, the court provides the parties with a mandatory Settlement Conference date.
The Settlement Conference is a meeting between the parties and the Judge. If no settlement can be agreed upon by all parties at the Settlement Conference, the case would need to go to trial to be resolved. To schedule a trial, one of the parties must request a trial date and pay the required fee. Failure to do so, may result in a dismissal of your claim for delay.