Motion to Validate Service:

Question: Can I ask the Ontario Small Claims Court to validate service if my documents were served improperly but the defendant still received them?

Answer: Yes, Ontario courts can validate service where a document came to the person’s notice or would have except for evasion under Rules of Civil Procedure, R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 194, Rule 16.08, and Small Claims may look to these rules by analogy under Rules of the Small Claims Court, O. Reg. 258/98, Rule 1.03(2).  Access Ontario Legal Services provides Ontario paralegal services to help prepare and file a Motion to Validate Service with supporting evidence so your Small Claims matter can proceed without avoidable delay.

A Document Served Improperly May Be Deemed Served

When the intended recipient receives a document in a manner that falls outside the Rules of the Small Claims Court, O. Reg. 258/98, a rule to address this situation is lacking; and consequently, reference to the Rules of Civil Procedure, R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 194, is necessary. Under the Rules of Civil Procedure, validation of service is permitted and a party may initiate a Motion to Validate Service. The relevant sections in both the Rules of the Small Claims Court and the Rules of Civil Procedure are:

Conclusion

Filing a Motion to validate service can help to ensure that a case proceeds without unnecessary delays.  In a Motion to validate service, it is beneficial to show that there were efforts to serve documents correctly and to provide any available evidence to support the request for validation.