Menu
Housing & Communities Planning for the Future Death & Estates Health Older Adults Consumer Protection Non-Profit Organizations & Charities Debts & Credit Government & Government Agencies Courts & Legal Systems Crimes & Fines Victims Resources for Teachers Legal Information for Newcomers Family Law Saskatchewan Workplace Sexual Harassment (SHIFT) About PLEA Contact Us Search

Starting a Small Claims Case

It is a good idea to send a demand letter before starting a small claims case. If this does not solve the matter, you must write your statement of claim. Once you have done this, you bring it and the required fee to Small Claims Court. They will issue a summons for you to serve on the defendant with a court date.

Demand Letter

The Small Claims Court has a sample demand letter here.

Before you even go to Small Claims Court, it is a good idea to send a demand letter. This is a letter explaining to the other person what they would need to do to settle the matter. There is no particular way to send a demand letter, but it can be helpful if you can prove that the other party received it. It should include:

  • the date
  • the name and address of the person you want to sue
  • your name and contact information
  • the nature and amount of the claim, including important background facts
  • what the person would have to do to settle the claim
  • a deadline for compliance with your demand
  • a statement that if the claim cannot be resolved satisfactorily, you intend to file a claim in Small Claims Court

Certain types of claims may require that a demand letter be sent first. Some contracts, for example, may require a demand or notice before a claim can arise. In addition, the court can grant interest on amounts owing and will often do so from the date of the demand letter.

If the demand letter does not resolve the matter, you may decide to start an action in Small Claims Court.

Statement of Claim

To start a small claims case, you need to complete a statement of claim. The Small Claims Court website has sample claims for different types of actions. You can use one of these, but you must put your own information in. You must also sign the claim.

In the claim, you outline why you are suing and what you are requesting such as payment of a certain amount of money. The claim should only contain enough information to identify why you are suing and what compensation you want. It should not contain evidence or tell a story.

You will need the correct name and address for the person you are suing. It is helpful if you also have phone numbers and email addresses for the parties.

Top Heading

At the top of the page, you put your name and address with the word “Plaintiff” beside it. Below this, you put the other party's name and address with the word “Defendant” beside it. This part of the document is called the style of cause. Under this you put “Statement of Plaintiff’s Claim.”

Paragraphs

Organize your claim into numbered paragraphs containing the following information in this order:

1. Describe the Plaintiff

Use your full legal name with no initials and include where you live.

Example:

1. The Plaintiff, Mary Ann Jones, resides in the Town of Leask, Saskatchewan.

2. Describe the Defendant

Use their full legal name with no initials and include where they live. This is similar to the previous paragraph except you describe them as the defendant.

It is very important to properly name the person you have a claim against. If you receive a judgment in the matter, it will use the same name as on your claim. If this name is not exactly correct, you may not be able to enforce the judgment.

Individual Defendants

If you are claiming against an individual, you must use the person’s legal name. Do not use nicknames, shortened versions or initials. If your claim is against more than one individual, you must correctly name everyone you are claiming against. You can do this in the same action if the claims are related.

Example:

2. The Defendant, Jane Marie Smith, resides in the City of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

Corporate Defendants

If the defendant is a corporation, you must use their full, official business name. This name will end with "Limited," "Corporation," or "Incorporated". The abbreviated forms of these, “Ltd.”, “Corp.” or “Inc.”, may also be used. You will also need the address of the corporation’s registered office.

A profile report on the corporation from the Corporate Registry will have this information. Some courts require you to file the profile report with your claim. Profile reports can be printed from the Corporate Registry website if you have the correct name and entity number of the corporation. They can also be ordered by phone (1-866-275-4721) or fax (306-787-8999). The Corporate Registry charges a fee for this information.

Example:

2. The Defendant, XYZ Corporation, is a company incorporated and carrying on business in Saskatchewan with a registered office in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.

Unincorporated Businesses

The defendant may also be an unincorporated business. This kind of business is carried on personally by its owner using a different name instead of through a separate corporation. If you are claiming against a business that is not incorporated, you should name both the business and the individual who owns the business.

Example:

2. The Defendant, John Richard Black, resides in the City of Regina, Saskatchewan, and carries on business under the name of Black's Autobody.

Other Entities

There may be other types of entities that you want to sue. This could be municipalities or government agencies. It is also important to correctly name these entities. You can get profile reports for most of these entities at the Corporate Registry. The legislation creating them often has their full name as well.

Example:

2. The Defendant, City of Saskatoon, is a municipal corporation pursuant to the laws of Saskatchewan.

3. Describe Your Claim

Outline the original agreement or event, describe what went wrong and why you are suing. Include details like dates and dollar amounts where possible.

Example:

3. On May 4, 2024, the Defendant agreed in writing to fix the Plaintiff’s fence at a rate of $50/hr plus materials.

4. The Plaintiff’s fence is located at 123 City Road, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

5. On May 5, 2024, the Plaintiff gave the Defendant a deposit in the amount of $200 and money to buy materials in the amount of $1,000 for a total of $1,200.

6. Since then, 3 months have passed and he has done no work on the Plaintiff’s fence.

7. During this time, the Plaintiff has attempted to reach the Defendant at the phone number provided by the Defendant on May 20, June 15 and July 1, 2024. The Plaintiff was unable to reach the Defendant on each attempt.

4. Describe Attempts to Settle

Outline the steps you have taken to resolve the issue. Refer to the demand letter by date and state what was demanded of the defendant. Set out what the defendant did or did not do in response to the letter.

Example:

8. The Plaintiff has demanded payment in the sum of $1,200, but the Defendant has refused and/or neglected to pay this amount.

5. Outline What You Want

State in point form what you are asking the court for, including:

  • judgment in the sum of the amount of money you are asking for
  • interest pursuant to the Pre-Judgment Interest Act or an agreement if you have one that deals with interest
  • filing costs of your proceedings
  • such other costs as the Honourable Court may deem just

Documents

You need to gather any documents you have that are relevant to the matter. This could be things like:

  • a bill of sale
  • a price estimate or quote
  • a contract
  • invoices
  • any demand letters that were sent
  • a corporate profile report from the Corporate Registry
  • any photographs

You need to make copies of everything. Then make a document list with the date and title or description of each document. List the earliest one first.

Filing the Claim

Provincial Courts are usually open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Although appointments are not always required, it is a good idea to phone the court first to confirm.

Once you have prepared your claim, take it to the Provincial Court nearest to where the incident happened. If you cannot tell where the incident occurred, take your documents to the Provincial Court nearest to where the other party lives.

You must bring:

  • your completed statement of claim
  • your document list and copies of all your documents
  • originals of all documents that you will use in your case
  • $100 for the court fee (cash, cheque or credit card)

Summons

Once you file your claim, a judge will review your claim. If everything is in order, the court will issue a summons. The summons tells the defendant that they are being sued. It also sets out the place, time and date that the parties are required to go to court. Your statement of claim is attached to the summons.

After the court issues the summons, one copy is kept on file and two copies are mailed to you or may be picked up at the courthouse. You must then serve the summons and all other required documents on the defendant.

How helpful was this article?

PLEA offers free online training on preventing and addressing workplace harassment.

Workplace Harassment Prevention Training

CHECK IT OUT We're here to help.

Housing & Communities

Planning for the Future

Death & Estates

Health

Older Adults

Consumer Protection

Non-Profit Organizations & Charities

Debts & Credit

Courts & Legal System

Government & Government Agencies

Crimes & Fines

Victims

About PLEA

PLEA gratefully acknowledges our primary core funder the Law Foundation of Saskatchewan for their continuing and generous support of our organization.