Glossary
Legal jargon can be difficult to understand if you have never needed it before. Below are basic definitions of commonly used legal terms.
DISCLAIMER: This is not a comprehensive glossary. And the meaning of legal terms can change as courts make rulings that change them. If you are currently involved in a legal matter that turns on the accuracy of these definitions, please refer to the cases published on CanLII for more current definitions.
Evidence
Evidence is how you are going to prove your claim against the other party. You should have some evidence for each claim you are advancing in your case.
Evidence can be in almost any form (witness testimony, documents, audiovisual recordings, etc.) but it always has to be admitted through a witness who will testify about how the evidence came into existence and how it relates to your case.
Put all the evidence of your case into a table like the one above to ensure that each claim you are making can be proven.
Expert Witnesses
Expert witnesses are those who have some specialized skills or knowledge that the court relies on to better understand the case.
Only expert witnesses are allowed to speculate about how an event might have happened, without having personal first-hand knowledge about an event.
Expert witnesses must be accepted as experts in the field in which they are going to testify in order for the court to defer to their expertise. It helps if another court has already qualified the witness as an expert in that particular field, but prior qualification will not necessarily mean that the judge in your case will qualify the witness as an expert.
Injunction
An injunction is a court order that stops a party from doing something. Injunctions can be obtained to stop actions that are already happening, or to prevent actions that my happen in the future.
Pleadings
Pleadings are a concise outline of your case and they are different from Evidence (see above).
Each party to a court case will file their own pleadings. The Claimant will file a Statement of Claim, and a Defendant will file a Statement of Defence. You can find those forms here.
Pleadings start by identifying the parties that will be involved in the litigation.
Then they explain the relationship of the parties to each other.
Then they explain the nature of the dispute between the parties.
Then they explain what relief that party is seeking from the court.
Include only those elements in your pleadings that are necessary to prove your claim(s). Pleadings are meant to be an outline, not a detailed explanation of yoru case.
Statement of Claim
A Statement of Claim is one of two type of Pleadings (see above). The other is a Statement of Defence (see below).
Only a Plaintiff (the person who has started the court case) will file a Statement of Claim.
Each party to a court case will file their own pleadings. The Claimant will file a Statement of Claim, and a Defendant will file a Statement of Defence. You can find those forms here.
Pleadings start by identifying the parties that will be involved in the litigation.
- The plaintiff is a school teacher who ordinarily resides at 123 Main St, Small Town, AB (the "Plaintiff").
- The defendant, Company XYZ is a company duly incorporated under the laws of Canada and continued into Alberta under registration no. 12345678 (the "Defendant").
Then they explain the relationship of the parties to each other.
The Defendant contracted with the Plaintiff to provide the following services:
--> service 1;
--> service 2; and
--> service 3
and to invoice the Plaintiff upon the completion of these services (the "Agreement").
Then they explain the nature of the dispute between the parties.
The Defendant completed services 1 and 2 but did not complete service 3 before invoicing the Plaintiff; and
The Defendant has been sold to a new owner who refuses to honour the Agreement between the
Defendant and the Plaintiff.
Then they explain what relief the Plaintiff is seeking.
The Plaintiff has already arranged with Company ABC to complete service 3 and been charged $X dollars for
that service.
Therefore, the Plaintiff seeks to have the Defendant's invoice reduced by this amount.
ALL OF WHICH IS RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED.
Include only those elements in your pleadings that are necessary to prove your claim. Pleadings are meant to be an outline, not a detailed explanation of your case.
Witnesses
Witnesses are individuals who have evidence that is relevant to your case.
They may have been present when an event happened, and have personal knowledge of events, but they may also be expert witnesses who have drawn conclusions based on the facts that you provided (like an accident reconstruction expert might do).
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Last Updated: 26Mar20