The reason that I asked these questions is I wanted to confirm that you had been correctly served the Statement of Claim. As of January 1, 2010, there were several changes made to the Rules of the Small Claims Court. One of those changes was how the Statement of Claim is required to be served on the Defendant. Under the old Rules, effective service was satisfied by ordinary mail. Under the new Rules, service must be by registered mail or personal service. I am satisfied that you have been correctly served and that you cannot use incorrect service as a defense.
Here is what has happened. Since the original Statement of Claim was filed with the Small Claims Court office sometime in 2009, the Court has not received any further communication from either the Plaintiff ( CRS )
or the Defendant ( that's you ). Under Rule 11.1, if no further steps are taken to advance the matter ( i.e.. all is quiet and there is no action ), then the clerk of the Small Claims Court is authorized to make an order dismissing the action as ABANDONED.
In a proceeding where no defense has been filed, the clerk will make this order if all of the following conditions apply, unless the court orders otherwise.
1. More than 180 days have passed since the date the claim was issued
or the date of an order extending the time for service of the claim.
2. No defense has been filed.
3. The action has not been disposed of by order and has not been set
down for trial.
4. The clerk has given 45 days' notice to the Plaintiff that the action will
be dismissed as abandoned.
A copy of this order was then forwarded to the Plaintiff putting them on notice that unless they file a Motion to set aside this Order, then the Statement of Claim will be considered as abandoned and the Plaintiff will lose any further steps to advance this matter. Obviously, the Plaintiff does not want to lose the right to pursue this matter. Therefore, the Plaintiff has filed a Motion with the Court and the Court has sent you a copy of this Motion stating the date and time this Motion is to be heard and what the Plaintiff is requesting.
Here, in essence, is what the Motion is requesting.
1. That the order made by the Clerk be set aside ( i.e. cancelled ).
2. That the Plaintiff request the Court to note the Defendant in default
for failure to file a defense within the prescribed time period.
3. That the Plaintiff file a request to the Clerk requesting that an
assessment hearing be arranged.
The purpose of the assessment hearing is to determine the amount of the claim that the Plaintiff is seeking. The Plaintiff is claiming $3,500 and you claim the debt was $1,600. The assessment hearing will determine the amount the Plaintiff can claim.
The Plaintiff may prefer to resolve the matter by way of a Motion in writing because it does not require a court attendance. On a Motion in writing for an assessment, the Plaintiff is not required to prove liability against the Defendant in default, but the affidavit evidence must be sufficiently detailed to prove the amount of the claim.
Where an assessment hearing is requested by the Plaintiff or ordered by a judge, the Plaintiff will be required to fix a date for the hearing. The Plaintiff must complete a request to clerk ( Form 9B ) for an assessment hearing to be scheduled.
An assessment hearing is like a trial except that the Defendant is not present, and, as with a Motion in writing, the Plaintiff is not required to prove liability against a Defendant noted in default, because the Defendant by his default is deemed to admit liability. The only issue before the court is how much money the Defendant owes the Plaintiff.
Assuming that the Plaintiff will get a default judgment, that judgment will be reported on credit reports with Equifax and Trans Union for 6/7 years respectively. Once a default judgment has been registered, the Plaintiff can apply to the Court for enforcement of that judgment which includes seizure of bank accounts and garnishment of wages.
I trust that I have shed some light on your situation.
Good Luck and have a GREAT DAY.