A default judgment
against you? Undo it.

By Jonathan Kleiman, Barrister & Solicitor · Published June 2026

Most people do not find out about a default judgment by reading a court document. They find out when their pay is suddenly short, or when money disappears from their bank account, or when a letter arrives saying their wages are being garnished for a debt they barely recognize. That is the moment the panic sets in — and it is usually the first time they realize someone took them to Small Claims Court, won, and started collecting, all without them ever stepping into a courtroom.

Here is the reassuring part. A default judgment is not a final, unbreakable verdict on whether you actually owe the money. It is a judgment you got because you did not file a Defence in time — and Ontario law has a specific, well-worn mechanism for reopening it. It is called a motion to set aside, and it lives in rule 11.06 of the Rules of the Small Claims Court. If you have a real defence and a believable reason you missed the deadline, you have a genuine path back into the case.

The catch — and it is a big one — is time. Everything about a set-aside motion gets harder the longer you wait. So if you have just discovered a judgment against you, treat this as urgent, not as something to deal with next month. Below I will explain what a default judgment is and how you ended up with one, walk through the rule 11.06 test in plain language, lay out the motion step by step, and flag the mistakes that sink these motions. None of this is legal advice about your specific file — but it is the map I give people the day they call me in a panic.

What a default judgment is — and how you got one

Start with the mechanics, because understanding how you got here tells you exactly how to get out. When someone sues you in Small Claims Court, they serve you with a Plaintiff\'s Claim. From the date you are served, you have a flat 20 days to file a Defence under rule 9.01. Not 40, not 60 — a flat 20. (That shorter window trips people up, which is why I built an Ontario Small Claims Court defence deadline calculator to take the guesswork out of it.)

If those 20 days pass with no Defence on file, the plaintiff can ask the clerk to note you in default. Once you are noted in default, judgment can be entered against you — and your side of the story is never heard. That is what a default judgment is: a judgment entered not because a judge weighed both cases and decided against you, but because you did not respond in time and the court treated the claim as undefended.

Make no mistake about what that judgment is, though. It is a real, enforceable court order. With it, the plaintiff can garnish your wages or bank account, register a writ against your property, and pursue the other collection tools the system allows. If you want to see the enforcement side from the plaintiff\'s perspective, I lay it all out in my guide to how to enforce a Small Claims Court judgment in Ontario. Reading it is sobering, because it shows you exactly what is now pointed at you — and why setting the judgment aside matters so much.

So the situation, stated plainly: there is a binding judgment against you, you never got to defend the claim, and the only reason is a deadline that came and went. The good news is that this exact scenario is what rule 11.06 was written for.

From my experience

From my experience, the people who call me about a default judgment are almost never the deadbeats the plaintiff assumes they are. They are people who moved and never got the claim, or who were served during a stretch of life — a health crisis, a separation, a death in the family — when opening official mail felt impossible. They are not refusing to engage. They simply missed a window they often did not know was running.

And here is the thing the panic hides from them: the court system actually leans in their favour on this point. Judges do not love deciding cases by default. The whole orientation of the law is that disputes should be resolved on their merits — on the actual evidence — rather than lost on a technical miss. A deputy judge who sees a person with a genuine defence and an honest reason for the delay is generally inclined to let the case be heard properly. That does not mean a set-aside is automatic. But it means an honest motion, brought promptly, is pushing in the same direction the system already wants to go.

What I tell people is this: your job is to give the court two things it can say yes to — a real defence and a believable explanation — and to bring them quickly enough that no one can say you sat on your rights. Do that, and you are in a strong position. Wait, or show up with no real defence, and you have made the court\'s easy yes into a hard no.

What the law generally says

The mechanism for reopening a default judgment is a motion to set aside under rule 11.06. The rule is worth understanding in its own words, because the wording is the test you have to meet.

The court may set aside the noting in default or default judgment, and any step taken to enforce the judgment, on such terms as are just, if the moving party — that is you — satisfies the court of two things:

• (a) that you have a meritorious defence — an arguable defence — and a reasonable explanation for the default, meaning a believable reason the Defence was not filed in time; and
• (b) that the motion is made as soon as reasonably possible in all the circumstances.

Read that carefully, because each phrase is doing work. Meritorious does not mean "a winning defence." It means arguable — a defence that is reasonably coherent and plausible on its face. The judge on the motion is not deciding whether you actually owe the money; they are deciding whether you have a real defence worth putting before the court. Reasonable explanation does not mean a perfect excuse; it means an honest, plausible account of why you missed the 20 days. And as soon as reasonably possible is the speed requirement that runs through the whole thing.

On top of the express test, the court also weighs the prejudice to each side — how much the delay has hurt the plaintiff versus how much being shut out hurts you — and the effect on the administration of justice. And as I said, the system\'s baseline preference is to decide cases on their merits rather than by default. Put it together and the picture is encouraging: a genuine defence, plus a prompt and honest motion, has a real chance.

Common situations I see

Over the years, most default-judgment files I handle fall into one of three patterns. Knowing which one you are in shapes how you frame the motion.

You were never properly served. This is the strongest position. The claim went to an old address, or was left somewhere you never received it, or was never delivered in a way the Rules actually permit. You genuinely did not know you were being sued. If that is your situation, the lateness in responding is excused — you cannot file a Defence to a claim you never received — and improper service is a powerful, standalone basis to set the judgment aside.

You were served, but you were overwhelmed or you ignored it. This is the most common and the most human. You got the claim, but you were in the middle of something hard, or you did not understand the deadline, or you assumed it would go away. It did not. Here your explanation has to do more work — but "I was overwhelmed" is a reason judges hear and accept all the time, especially when it is honest and specific rather than a vague after-the-fact excuse.

Your address was out of date. A close cousin of the service problem. The plaintiff served the address they had, but you had moved, and the claim never reached you. Whether this lands as "improper service" or as "a reasonable explanation" depends on the details, but either way it is a credible basis to reopen, and proof of where you actually lived becomes your most important evidence. If you are at an earlier stage and have just learned a claim was filed, my guide on what to do when someone is suing you in Small Claims Court walks through responding before it ever reaches default.

Step-by-step: how to set aside a default judgment

Here is the sequence I follow. Treat it as a checklist, and notice that the first step is the one that matters most.

1. Act fast

The day you learn a judgment exists is the day the clock effectively starts. "As soon as reasonably possible" is part of the legal test, not a suggestion — so the single best thing you can do is move now. Do not wait to see if the garnishment stops on its own. Do not wait until you have saved up. Get advice and start building the motion immediately, because every week of delay weakens your explanation and strengthens the plaintiff\'s argument that you sat on your rights.

2. Gather your explanation and your defence

You need both halves of the rule 11.06 test, so assemble both. For your explanation, collect anything that shows why you missed the deadline — proof you had moved, records of a serious illness or family emergency, evidence the claim went to the wrong address. For your defence, write down, clearly, why you should not have to pay: you do not owe it, you already paid, the amount is wrong, the contract was never breached, the wrong party was sued. You do not need to prove these to a certainty right now — you need to show they are real and arguable.

3. Serve and file a notice of motion and affidavit

The motion itself is two documents: a notice of motion (which asks the court to set aside the judgment) and a supporting affidavit (your sworn story — the explanation and the proposed defence, with your evidence attached). You serve these on the other side and file them with the court, and you pay the motion fee. The affidavit is where the case is won or lost, so it deserves real care: it has to satisfy a judge on both parts of the test in your own words.

4. Attend the motion

A judge hears the motion and decides. You explain why no Defence was filed in time and walk the court through your arguable defence; the plaintiff responds. The judge then rules — and may grant the set-aside, refuse it, or grant it on terms (more on terms below). This is your chance to make the case in person, so be ready to speak to both halves of the test plainly and honestly.

5. If granted, defend the case

Winning the motion does not win the lawsuit. It reopens it. If the judgment is set aside, your matter proceeds as a normally defended action — you file your Defence, and the case moves through the usual Small Claims steps, including a mandatory settlement conference. In other words, a successful set-aside puts you back where you would have been if you had defended on time. That is the whole point: a fair chance to be heard on the merits.

The test you must meet (rule 11.06)

Everything turns on rule 11.06, so it is worth breaking the test into its parts and being honest with yourself about whether you can meet each one. The court is looking at three things.

A meritorious (arguable) defence. This is the part people misunderstand most. You do not have to convince the judge you will win. You have to show you have a defence that is real — coherent and plausible on its face — rather than nothing at all. "I don\'t owe this money because I already paid it, here is the receipt" is arguable. "I just don\'t want to pay" is not. The bar is arguability, not victory, and that is good news: it means an honest defence that might lose at trial can still get you back into the case.

A reasonable explanation for the default. Why was no Defence filed in the 20 days? The answer has to be believable. Never served, served at an old address, knocked flat by a health or family crisis, overwhelmed and frozen — these are the explanations that work, especially when they are specific and supported. What does not work is a bare "I forgot" or an explanation that is obviously an excuse stitched together after the fact.

Moved as soon as reasonably possible. The motion has to be brought promptly in all the circumstances. There is no magic number of days, but the principle is simple: the moment you knew, you should have acted. Promptness is not a side issue — it is built into the rule, and it is the most common place these motions come apart.

Behind those three, remember, sit the court\'s broader concerns: the relative prejudice to each side, the effect on the administration of justice, and the strong default preference for deciding cases on their merits. You are not begging for an exception. You are asking the court to do what it generally prefers to do anyway — let a real dispute be decided properly.

Important evidence

A set-aside motion is won on the affidavit, and an affidavit is only as strong as the evidence behind it. Three categories matter most.

Proof you were not properly served. If service is your basis, document it. Old leases, a change-of-address confirmation, utility bills showing where you actually lived, anything establishing that the claim went somewhere you were not. This is often the difference between a strong motion and a shaky one, because it converts "I never got it" from a bare assertion into a proven fact.

Your reasonable explanation. Back up your story. If you were ill, attach what you can showing it. If there was a family emergency, say what and when. Specifics are persuasive; vagueness is not. The goal is for a judge reading your affidavit to think, "Yes, that explains it."

Your arguable defence. Put the substance of your defence in front of the court — the receipt that shows you paid, the contract terms that were never breached, the correspondence that shows the amount is wrong, the corporate records that show the wrong party was sued. You are not running the trial here, but you are showing the judge there is a real case to be tried.

Common mistakes

The motions I see fail almost always fail for the same handful of reasons, and every one of them is avoidable.

Waiting too long. This is the big one. "As soon as reasonably possible" means promptly, and a motion brought months after you learned of the judgment — with no good reason for the gap — invites the court to refuse it on timing alone, no matter how good your defence is. Delay is the most common, and most needless, killer of these motions.

No real defence. A reasonable explanation alone is not enough. If you cannot point to an arguable defence, the court has no reason to reopen a case that would just end the same way. Setting aside a judgment only to lose at trial helps no one, and judges know it. You need both halves of the test, not one.

Ignoring it again. The most painful mistake is the person who finally gets the judgment set aside, gets their second chance — and then misses the next step, too. A set-aside puts you back in a live lawsuit with real deadlines. If you do not then file your Defence and engage with the case, you can end up right back where you started. Reopening the case is the beginning of the work, not the end of it.

What if the plaintiff opposes the motion?

Expect them to. The plaintiff did the work to get the judgment and may already be collecting on it, so they often resist giving it up. That is normal, and it does not mean you lose. Their usual arguments are that you delayed, that your explanation is thin, or that your "defence" is not really arguable — which is exactly why you build the motion to answer all three in advance. A well-prepared affidavit that closes those doors is what carries the day against an opposing plaintiff.

What happens at the motion (and possible terms)

On the day, a judge hears both sides and decides. There are really three outcomes. The motion can be refused — usually for delay or for the absence of a real defence. It can be granted outright — the judgment is set aside and the case reopens cleanly. Or, very commonly, it can be granted on terms.

Terms are conditions the court attaches under its power to set aside "on such terms as are just." The most frequent is an order that you pay some of the plaintiff\'s costs — they spent time and money obtaining the judgment, and you are the one who missed the deadline, so the court evens that out. Another is an order to pay money into court as security, which shows up more often when your explanation is on the thinner side. None of this decides the merits. Terms are simply the price of reopening a case you let go to default — and a manageable price for getting your day in court.

How is this different from an appeal?

People mix these up constantly, so let me draw the line clearly. You set aside a default judgment you never defended — there was no hearing, no decision on the merits, just a missed deadline. You appeal a decision that was made after you participated — you showed up, the case was heard, and you believe the judge got it wrong. They are different tools for different situations, with different rules and different deadlines. If you actually had your day in court and want to challenge the result, what you want is the process I cover in how to appeal a Small Claims Court decision in Ontario, not a set-aside motion. Picking the wrong one wastes precious time, so be sure which situation you are in before you file.

Settlement considerations

A set-aside motion does not have to be the only conversation happening. Once the plaintiff sees you are serious — that you have a real defence and you are moving to reopen the case — the dynamic often shifts, and settlement comes onto the table. A judgment that looked like a sure thing for them now looks like a fight, and many plaintiffs would rather take a sensible deal than litigate a case they assumed was over.

That can cut your way. Sometimes the smartest path is to bring the motion and, in parallel, open a conversation about resolving the whole thing on terms you can live with — a reduced amount, a payment plan, the garnishment lifted. I always weigh that against the cost and risk of fighting. And if part of your worry is that you genuinely cannot pay what is claimed, that is a real and separate problem worth understanding on its own; I walk through the options in my guide on what happens if you lose in Small Claims Court and cannot pay. The point is that setting aside the judgment can be the lever that gets you to a fair settlement, not just the start of another fight.

Key takeaways

• A default judgment is reversible, not final. It exists because you did not file a Defence in the flat 20 days (rule 9.01) — not because a judge decided the merits against you — and rule 11.06 gives you a clear path to reopen it.
• The rule 11.06 test has two halves. You need a meritorious (arguable) defence and a reasonable explanation for the default, and you must move as soon as reasonably possible. Arguable means plausible, not guaranteed to win.
• Speed is part of the test. Delay is the most common reason these motions fail. The day you learn of the judgment is the day to act.
• Improper service is a strong basis. If the claim never validly reached you, your lateness is excused — and proof of where you actually lived becomes your most important evidence.
• Set aside is not appeal. You set aside a default you never defended; you appeal a decision made after you participated. Choose the right tool, and do not let terms or a garnishment scare you off — both can be addressed.

Frequently asked questions

What is a default judgment in Small Claims Court?

A default judgment is a judgment the plaintiff obtained because you did not file a Defence within the flat 20 days you had after being served (rule 9.01). When that window closes with no Defence, the plaintiff can ask the clerk to note you in default, and judgment can be entered without your side ever being heard. It is a real, enforceable court order — not a draft or a warning. The plaintiff can use it to garnish your wages or bank account and to register writs against your property. That is usually how people discover it exists.

How do I set aside a default judgment in Ontario?

You bring a motion to set aside the default judgment under rule 11.06. In practice that means serving and filing a notice of motion together with a supporting affidavit, and paying the motion fee. The affidavit is the heart of it: in it you give a reasonable explanation for why no Defence was filed in time, and you set out the defence you would have raised. A judge then decides. If the motion succeeds, the judgment is set aside and your case proceeds as a normally defended action — sometimes on terms, such as paying the other side's costs.

What is the test to set aside a default judgment?

Under rule 11.06 the court may set aside the noting in default or default judgment, and any step taken to enforce it, on such terms as are just, if you satisfy the court of two things. First, that you have a meritorious defence — an arguable defence, one that is reasonably coherent and plausible on its face; it does not have to be likely to win. Second, that you have a reasonable explanation for the default, and that you moved as soon as reasonably possible in all the circumstances. The court also weighs prejudice to each side and the system's preference for deciding cases on their merits.

What counts as a "reasonable explanation" for missing the deadline?

It is an honest, believable account of why no Defence was filed within the 20 days. The strongest version is that you were never properly served and genuinely did not know about the claim. Other explanations I see include the claim going to an old address, a serious illness or family emergency, or being so overwhelmed that you froze and did not act. What does not work well is a bare "I forgot" with no detail, or an explanation that is plainly an excuse. You do not need a perfect reason — you need a candid, plausible one, supported by your affidavit.

What is a "meritorious defence"?

A meritorious defence is an arguable defence — a reason the plaintiff might not be entitled to win that is coherent and plausible on its face. The key word is arguable: it does not have to be likely to succeed, and the judge on the motion is not deciding who is right. They are asking whether you have a real defence worth putting before the court, as opposed to nothing at all. Examples include that you do not owe the money, that you already paid, that the amount is wrong, that the contract was never breached, or that the wrong party was sued. You spell it out in your affidavit.

How fast do I have to move to set aside a default judgment?

As soon as reasonably possible in all the circumstances — that is part of the rule 11.06 test, not just good advice. There is no fixed deadline, but delay is one of the main reasons these motions fail. Every week you sit on it weakens your explanation and lets the plaintiff argue prejudice. The day you learn a judgment exists — often when a garnishment hits your pay or bank account — is the day the clock effectively starts. If you act promptly and your story holds together, you have a real chance. If you wait months without a reason, you may have given it away.

What if I was never properly served?

Improper service is one of the strongest bases to set aside a default judgment. If the claim never validly reached you — it went to an address you left years ago, or was never delivered in a way the Rules allow — then you never had a fair chance to defend, and the lateness in responding is excused. The court takes service seriously because a default judgment is supposed to follow a properly served claim. Bring proof: old leases, a change-of-address record, anything showing where you actually lived. Combined with an arguable defence and a prompt motion, this is often a winning position.

Can I stop a garnishment while I bring the motion?

Rule 11.06 lets the court set aside not just the judgment but "any step taken to enforce" it, which includes a garnishment. So a successful motion can unwind the garnishment as part of the order. The practical problem is timing: the garnishment keeps running until a judge acts. That is why I move quickly and, where appropriate, ask the court to address the enforcement steps at the same time. In urgent cases you can raise the garnishment with the court right away rather than waiting for the full motion to be heard. The faster you move, the less money leaves your account in the meantime.

Will I have to pay anything if it is set aside?

Possibly. Rule 11.06 lets the court set aside a default judgment "on such terms as are just," and judges often attach conditions. The most common is paying some of the other side's costs — they did the work to get the judgment, and you are the one who missed the deadline. Sometimes the court orders money paid into court as security, especially where the explanation is thin. None of this means you lose; it means you get your day in court on conditions the judge considers fair. Think of terms as the price of reopening a case you let go to default, not as a penalty that decides the merits.

Do I need a lawyer or paralegal to set aside a default judgment?

You can bring the motion yourself, and some people do. But a set-aside motion turns entirely on a well-built affidavit that nails both parts of the rule 11.06 test — a genuine arguable defence and a reasonable explanation, moved on promptly — and on handling the service and enforcement issues correctly. Those are exactly the things people get wrong on their own, and a weak motion can be hard to fix once it is refused. Given that there is a real judgment, often a garnishment, and limited time, this is a situation where experienced help usually pays for itself. At minimum, get advice before you file.

Final thoughts

Discovering a default judgment against you is a genuinely frightening moment — especially when you first learn of it because money is already leaving your account. But the fear usually outruns the facts. A default judgment is not a court\'s considered verdict that you owe the money; it is the consequence of a deadline you missed, and Ontario law has a deliberate, fair way to give you the hearing you never got. Rule 11.06 exists precisely because the system would rather decide your case on its merits than let it be lost by default.

So if this is you, do two things. Move quickly — promptness is baked into the test, and it is the factor most within your control. And be honest with yourself about whether you have a real, arguable defence, because that is the other half of what the court needs to say yes. If you have both, you have a strong motion. If you are unsure about either, that is exactly the conversation to have before you file, not after. For the bigger picture of what a judgment can and cannot do to you — including the worries people often have but rarely voice — it is worth knowing whether you can go to jail over a Small Claims Court judgment in Ontario (you cannot, for the debt itself), and what an undefended case looks like from the other side in my guide on what happens when a defendant does not show up in Small Claims Court.

If a default judgment has landed on you and the clock is running, do not face it alone. A Small Claims Court defence lawyer in Toronto can tell you fast whether you have a viable motion and help you build it properly the first time — which, with these deadlines, often makes all the difference. Call 416-554-1639 or book a free consultation. A short conversation can tell you where you stand — and whether to file today.