Ontario Defendant's Claim and Counterclaim Estimator
Comparison
- Defendant's Claim filing fee
- $108.00
- Jurisdiction check on defendant's claim (limit $50,000)
- under
The two claims are legally distinct - the "net" figures above are arithmetic only. A judge decides liability, set-off, and judgment separately on each side.
A Defendant's Claim may be brought against the plaintiff, a co-defendant, or another person where the Rules permit. Party joinder, jurisdiction, service and relatedness of the claims all require legal analysis.
About this calculator
In the Small Claims Court a defendant who wishes to make a claim of their own files a Defendant's Claim (Form 10A) - the equivalent of what many lawyers colloquially call a counterclaim, though the Rules use the "Defendant's Claim" terminology. Rule 10.01 requires a Defendant's Claim to be issued within 20 days after the Defence is filed, unless the court orders otherwise.
The $50,000 monetary jurisdiction applies to the defendant's own claim just as it does to the plaintiff's claim, excluding interest and costs. If the defendant's proposed claim exceeds $50,000, options include abandoning the excess or pursuing the claim in the Superior Court of Justice.
Worked example
Plaintiff sues for $15,000 and the defendant paid $2,000 before trial. The defendant proposes a $9,000 counter-claim. On a purely mathematical basis, the net to plaintiff is $13,000 and the net to defendant is $9,000. If Defence was filed on 4 May 2026, the Defendant's Claim ordinary deadline is Monday 25 May 2026 (Rule 3.01 rolls the nominal Sunday 24 May forward).