Being Sued in PEI Small Claims Court: Your Options as a Defendant

Getting served with a small claims lawsuit in PEI can feel overwhelming, especially when you see a deadline printed on the papers. The good news: you have real options, and the process is designed for people without lawyers.

First: Verify the Documents Are Real

Before you do anything else, confirm the papers are genuine. Call the Prothonotary's Office directly at (902) 368-6067 — use the number from the PEI Courts website, not any number printed on the documents. Give them the court file number from the top-right corner of the Statement of Claim and they will confirm whether the case exists.

PEI does not have a public online case lookup, so a phone call is the only way to verify.

Your Four Response Options

Once you have confirmed the claim is real, you need to choose a path. Rule 74 of the PEI Rules of Civil Procedure gives defendants four options:

1. Dispute the Entire Claim

If you believe you owe nothing — the work was done properly, the contract was honoured, the goods were as described — file a Statement of Defence (Form 9A) denying the allegations. You also file Form 8A (Designation of Address for Service). The case then moves to a mandatory settlement conference.

2. Admit the Entire Claim

If you agree you owe the full amount, you can contact the claimant to negotiate Terms of Settlement (Form 14A). This can include a lump-sum payment or an instalment schedule. Filing Form 14A with the court creates a binding agreement. If you default on the payments, the claimant can get judgment for the remaining balance without a trial.

3. Admit Part, Dispute the Rest

If you agree you owe something but not the full amount — say the claimant charges for work that was never done, or inflates the damages — file Form 9A with a partial admission. Spell out the exact amount you accept and the portion you dispute. If the claimant rejects your proposal, the disputed amount goes to a settlement conference.

4. Dispute and Counterclaim

If the claimant actually owes you money from the same transaction, you can file Form 9A (your defence) plus Form 10A (a counterclaim) seeking up to $16,000. Your counterclaim continues as a live lawsuit even if the claimant drops their original claim.

The Deadline

You must file your response within 20 calendar days if served in PEI, 40 days if served elsewhere in Canada or the US, or 60 days if served internationally. The day you are served does not count — your clock starts the next calendar day.

Miss the deadline and the claimant can seek a default judgment. For a fixed amount, the court may enter judgment administratively; for unliquidated damages, the court schedules an assessment hearing to determine the amount.

Do You Need a Lawyer?

Individual defendants in PEI small claims can represent themselves. The $16,000 cap on claims means legal fees can quickly approach or exceed the amount in dispute, which is why most defendants handle it themselves.

Corporations are different — a company must be represented by a lawyer unless the court grants special permission for an officer or director to appear.

Free help is available through Community Legal Information PEI at (902) 892-0853 and the weekly Pro Bono Legal Advice Clinic at the Charlottetown courthouse on Wednesdays.

Your Next Steps

The PEI Small Claims Response Guide covers the entire defendant journey from reading your service papers through the hearing, with deadline calculators, form-filling instructions, and a settlement conference preparation checklist.

See more Prince Edward Island guides →