As a plaintiff, you may withdraw a claim you filed with the Small Claims Division. In other words, you can drop your case if you do not wish to continue with the court proceedings. This is called discontinuance.
However, if the case involves other plaintiffs (i.e., you were not the only person filing the claim), the claim continues for them.
On this page:
Steps in withdrawing a claim
You must inform the courthouse in writing that the claim has been withdrawn.
If you drop the case because of an out-of-court settlement, the defendant will probably want to recover the legal costs. You must come to an agreement with the defendant on this matter.
Otherwise, the defendant can claim legal costs from you.
Steps for the defendant
If you and the plaintiff are unable to reach an agreement, fill in the Bill of Costs – Small Claims (SJ-1266A) (PDF 224 Kb) form to request that the plaintiff reimburse you. You may also ask to have your bill of costs homologated, which enables the court to force reimbursement if it is not done voluntarily. Send the form to the plaintiff with a copy to the courthouse, along with any supporting documents. Contact the courthouse if you need assistance for this step.
If no settlement is reached
Steps for the plaintiff
The legal costs you paid to file the claim are not refundable if you withdraw the claim.
In addition, you must pay the defendant’s costs if the case is not settled out of court, unless the court orders otherwise.
Steps for the defendant
Fill in the Bill of Costs – Small Claims (SJ-1266A) (PDF 224 Kb) form to request that the plaintiff reimburse you. You may also ask to have your bill of costs homologated, which enables the court to force reimbursement if it is not done voluntarily. Send the form to the plaintiff and the courthouse, along with supporting documents (if applicable). Contact the courthouse if you need assistance for this step.
Opposing reimbursement of costs
As the plaintiff, you may oppose having to reimburse the defendant’s costs if you consider the amount to be exaggerated.
Steps for the plaintiff
After receiving the defendant’s bill of costs, you have 10 days to oppose reimbursement. If you choose to do so, the defendant’s bill of costs will be verified by a court clerk, who will determine the amount of legal costs you must reimburse to the defendant. Contact the courthouse to learn more about the procedure for opposing reimbursement.
Cross-application
If you drop your case but the defendant has filed a claim against you in the same matter (cross-application), the defendant’s claim will continue its course.
