There are two courts in NL where civil actions may be commenced:
There is also the availability of Summary Trial and Expedited Trial Applications (Rules of Court - Rule 17A actions) in the Supreme Court Trial Division. These are for claims the court deems justifiable to expedite.
The following relates to the process leading to the trial of a civil action in the Supreme Court Trial Division.
An action is typically commenced by a plaintiff filing a Statement of Claim or Originating Application with attached Notice to Defendants with the General Division of the Supreme Court of NL. Once the originating documents are filed with the court the documents are deemed to be issued. The cost of filing originating documents is $123.00.
Once a Statement of Claim is issued, the plaintiff has 1 year to serve it on the defendant unless the court has granted a six-month renewal to serve the claim on grounds presented by the plaintiff. A maximum of four such renewals may be granted.
A Defendant must serve and file its Statement of Defence 10 days after being served with a Statement of Claim. If the defendant is outside the province residing in Canada they must serve their Statement of Defence in 30 days.
If they are residing in the United States they have 45 days. If they are residing elsewhere they have 60 days. A claim and a defence are collectively referred to as the "pleadings" and they must comply with Rule 14 of the Rules of Court.
Jury trials are as of right only for actions involving defamation, malicious prosecution or false imprisonment.
The plaintiff and/or defendant may request in a certificate of readiness filed under the Rules of Court to have issues of fact to be tried by jury and judge. In causes of action other than where a jury trial may be requested by right, the party seeking a jury trial must show there is an alleged breach of standards of community morality to justify a liability and damages assessment by a jury.