How long does a lawsuit take?

 

That largely depends upon how the other side responds to a lawsuit and how quickly the court can schedule hearings.  To get from filing a lawsuit, serving it, waiting for the defence, proceeding to a settlement conference and then going on to trial could take about nine months to a year in many of the Small Claims Courts in Ontario.

 

MORE DETAILED EXPLANATION

While the Ontario Small Claims Court can often deal with matters faster than the Superior Court it is still, generally, not a fast process.  The intervals between steps often take months.

A lawsuit commences when a Plaintiff files a Plaintiff’s Claim.  It could take a legal representative 20 days* or so to actually draft a claim after being formally retained.  Once the claim has been drafted it can be filed with the appropriate Small Claims Court.

After the claim has been filed with the court a Plaintiff then has up to six months to effect service.  Notwithstanding the six-month allowance, most claims are served within 30 days of being issued – often by registered mail or personal service.

After a claim has been served the Defendant then has 20 days to exercise one of the following three options:

  1. Settle the matter;
  2. File a Defence and have the matter proceed to a mandatory Settlement Conference;
  3. Do nothing and have default judgment entered accordingly.

In almost call cases that we deal with a Defendant will file a Defence.  In some instances, and especially if the Defendant is represented, there will be a request for an additional 10 days to serve and file a Defence.  It is customary, and a matter of professional courtesy, to allow this additional time.

After the Defence is filed with the court a Settlement Conference will be scheduled.  How long this will take depends upon the frequency with which the court sits and how busy it is at any give time.  In the Greater Toronto Area most Settlement Conferences are scheduled within 90 days of a Defence being filed.

If a matter does not get resolved at a Settlement Conference then either party may set the matter down for trial.  Typically, it would be the Plaintiff who would do this.  While technically a trial could be requested the very next day, the practice is a trial is not requested until one has canvassed available dates with the opposing side.  This can take at least 10 days.  In practice, a representative or a client may need another 30 days to be ready to actually make the request.

Once again, how quickly a trial will be scheduled will depend upon the frequency and volume of the court.  In the GTA most trials are scheduled within 90 days of the request.

Often, but not always, there is at least one adjournment request of either a Settlement Conference or a Trial.  First adjournment requests are invariably granted.  This will usually add another 90 days to the matter.

Thus far, we are at 390 days.  Additional time can occur if there is more than one adjournment or Settlement Conference or if the Trial goes on for more than one day or if there are any motions during the course of the proceeding.

At the conclusion of the Trial the judge will render a decision.  Historically, trials in the Ontario Small Claims Court used to be shorter and decisions used to be faster.  However, things have changed over the years and trials have gotten longer and more complicated.  As a result, judges are being more formal in their decisions and often take time to write them out.  This could add another 90 days.

After a judgment has been rendered there still remains the issue of enforcing it.  Sometimes this can happen quickly and other times it can take months or even years.  In some respects, getting the judgment is only the half-way mark as enforcement can, depending upon the debtor’s assets, take quite some time.

Avoiding all of this time is often one of the reasons people will resolve a matter at a Settlement Conference.

 

* All references to days are in calendar days.