The Defendant Has Offered To Settle (Pay) The Claim, What Do I Do?

What are the benefits to settling the Civil Claim?

If the Civil Claim is settled, the action is resolved and you will not need to go to Court.

How can the Defendant settle the Civil Claim?

The Defendant can pay the Plaintiff directly or pay the money into Court.

If the Defendant pays the Plaintiff directly, a receipt should be made which includes the date, amounts and signatures of all parties involved.  A Notice of Withdrawal should be filed with the Court once money has cleared the bank.

If the Defendant pays the money into Court, the clerks’ office will send the Plaintiff a Notice of Payment and Statement of Acceptance / Refusal. The Plaintiff has 30 days to respond by either accepting or refusing the offer to settle.

Acceptance: Once the Acceptance has been received and after the money has cleared the bank, the clerks’ office will send a cheque to the Plaintiff and will include a Notice of Withdrawal for the Plaintiff to complete and file.  It may take up to 4-5 weeks for the Plaintiff to receive the cheque.

Refusal: If a Refusal is received by the clerks’ office or if the Plaintiff fails to respond within the 30 days, the money will be returned to the Defendant and the action will continue. You will be notified of the next step in the process.

If the Plaintiff refuses to accept the settlement, proceeds to trial and is not awarded a sum greater than the amount paid into Court, the Plaintiff may be responsible to pay the Defendant costs incurred after the payment into Court was made.

A Court date has already been set, can I still settle?

Yes. You are able to settle the action at any time. The Notice you received of your scheduled Court date will contain the telephone number to call to notify the Alberta Court of Justice Office that the action has settled.

You must also file a Notice of Withdrawal of the Claim (and any Counterclaims) after the money has cleared the bank.

How do I complete a Notice of Withdrawal?

A Notice of Withdrawal is a form used to discontinue an action or part of an action.

For detailed information and step by step instructions review the Notice of Withdrawal.

If you are attending in person at the Courthouse you will be required to bring the following number of copies of the Notice of Withdrawal:

• Original (which the Court will keep for the Court File)
• Copy for your records
• Copy for each named Defendant which the clerks’ office will send to each party.

If you are fax filing the Notice of Withdrawal, you must fax it to the Alberta Court of Justice Office where the Civil Claim was filed.

I have decided not to accept the offer to settle, what happens next?

The action will continue and you will be notified of the next step in the process.

If the Plaintiff refuses to accept the settlement, proceeds to trial and is not awarded a sum greater than the amount paid into Court, the Plaintiff may be responsible to pay the Defendant costs incurred after the payment into Court was made.

For more detailed information on Costs review the section called Judgment and Court Costs.

For more detailed information review the sections called, All The Claims and Disputes Have Been Filed, What Happens Next? and Resolution Tracks: Are There Different Ways a Claim Can Be Resolved?