Skilled civil litigation Services for Maximum Results

Litigation Experience

Most Civil Litigation matters settle well before going to Trial. In Ontario over 90% of cases settle before Trial. One of the advantages of Beaumont Paralegal is that we have experience handling all aspects of a civil litigation matter from the preliminary investigation all the way to trial. If the matter requires going to court, we have experience in enforcing your legal rights.

Limitation Period

There are strict limitation periods in play for most matters in Civil Litigation and because of this it is important to act quickly and not wait. Ontario has a general 2-year limitation period from the discovery of a potential claim. With that said depending on the circumstance and area this limitation period can be lower or higher.

It is in your best interests to respond quickly as opposed to waiting towards the end of the limitation period in most cases. The reason for this is are as follows:

1. In some circumstances, you may be deemed to have acquiesced. (This is common in employment disputes where an Employer unilaterally changes the terms of employment)
2. By responding quickly, you show the Courts that the matter is important to you.
3. It is better to discover all evidence as soon as possible.

Cost-Effective Litigation

One of the fears going into matters is the cost of Litigation. However, there are techniques an experienced litigator can utilize to minimize your costs and increase the possibility that you recover most of your costs in the case the matter goes all the way to Trial. At Beaumont Paralegal we are a cost-effective litigation practice.

One of Our Cost Minimization Strategies: Early Offers to Settle

The #1 technique to reduce your costs in a litigation matter is by making an early offer to settle. If you are the Plaintiff (the party who brings the law suit) and you at trial get equal to or more than your offer to settle at trial then you can claim for the following per Rule 49 of the Rules of Civil Procedure:

• Costs on a partial indemnity basis until the offer is served (approximately 40-60%)
• Costs on a substantial indemnity basis from when the offer is served (approximately 60-90%)

If you are the Defendant and the Plaintiff fails to recover more than your offer to settle at trial, you can claim for the following per Rule 49 of the Rules of Civil Procedure:

• Costs to the plaintiff on a partial indemnity basis until the offer is served.
• Costs to the defendant on a partial indemnity basis from when the offer is served.

An early offer to settle also has a secondary effect. It puts the other party on notice that they may incur significant legal costs in addition to their own legal costs if they do not beat this offer. The pressure this will place on the recipient can pressure them to settle the matter. If the matter settles early, it also will reduce your own legal costs.

Please note: This technique is more valuable for matters over $35,000 than matters in the Small Claims Court.