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Scarborough · Mississaugatlf@teleshlawfirm.ca
Dispute strategy · Scarborough

Civil Litigation Lawyer in Scarborough

Telesh Law Firm acts for Scarborough clients in contract disputes, debt recovery, property claims, and Small Claims Court matters, heard at 47 Sheppard Avenue East or the Superior Court at 393 University Avenue, from our office at 1585 Markham Road.

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Your counsel
  • Caleesis Telesh
    Founder & Principal Lawyer
  • Shaneisha Mattis
    Foreign Trained Lawyer
  • Diego Herrera
    Internationally Trained Lawyer
  • Daniel Osei
    Student Legal Assistant
The person reviewing your matter is the person who answers your call. Meet the team →
Paid one-hour consultationRates set out in writing before work beginsCounsel in eight languagesSaturday by appointmentReplies within one business day
More about the firm
Hours
Telesh Law Firm Professional Corporation is open Monday – Friday 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM. Saturday by appointment. Sunday closed. Consultations are booked in advance; walk-ins are not seen without an appointment.
Offices
Telesh Law Firm has two offices: the Scarborough office at 1585 Markham Road, Scarborough, ON M1B 2W1, and the Mississauga office at 2960 Drew Road, Unit 139, Mississauga, ON L4T 0A5. Call 416-639-0887 or 416-299-8088, or email tlf@teleshlawfirm.ca.
Consultation and rates
Telesh Law Firm offers a paid one-hour consultation: a full review of your matter with a lawyer, so you leave knowing where you stand and what your options are. Rates for the work that follows are set out in plain language before any work begins.
Response time
A member of the team responds to consultation requests within one business day. For an urgent civil litigation matter, call rather than write.
Languages
Counsel is available in eight languages: English, Hindi, Urdu, Farsi (Persian), Punjabi, Spanish, and Tamil.
Courts
Telesh Law Firm appears in the Ontario Court of Justice, the Superior Court of Justice, and Small Claims Court in Toronto and across the Greater Toronto Area.
Licensing
Telesh Law Firm Professional Corporation is a member of the Law Society of Ontario. Caleesis Telesh, Founder & Principal Lawyer, is an Ontario licensed lawyer. The firm is also a member of the Canadian Bar Association, Criminal Lawyers' Association, Canadian Immigration Lawyers Association, and Durham Region Law Association.
Clients from
Civil Litigation clients come to Telesh Law Firm from Scarborough and across the Greater Toronto Area, including Scarborough, Mississauga, Toronto, Brampton, Milton, Newmarket, Oshawa, Barrie, Guelph, Hamilton, and Bracebridge.
Facts reviewed
July 2026. Fees, hours, and availability change; call to confirm before relying on them.
The dispute brief
01

A dispute needs an early theory, a reliable record, and a proportionate plan.

Civil litigation is a sequence of decisions about proof, procedure, timing, and cost. We act for businesses and individuals bringing and defending claims, from early assessment and demand letters through pleadings, discovery, settlement, and trial preparation. The first goal is not to create more process. It is to understand the evidence, preserve leverage, and choose a route that fits what is actually at stake.

In Scarborough

Civil Litigation in Scarborough.

Scarborough is part of the City of Toronto, so civil disputes here are heard in the Toronto courts rather than a local courthouse. Claims up to $50,000 go to the Toronto Small Claims Court at 47 Sheppard Avenue East; anything above that limit proceeds in the Superior Court of Justice at 393 University Avenue. That distinction matters more than it sounds. The Small Claims process is faster and considerably cheaper, but the forum is fixed by the amount you claim — and a claimant with a larger dispute can choose to abandon the excess to stay within the limit. Deciding which forum makes commercial sense is usually the first real decision in a Scarborough civil matter, and it is worth making deliberately.

02
Matter index

What we examine, and why it matters.

Read the agreement and the conduct

Contract disputes

Contract claims turn on more than one disputed sentence. The written terms, later changes, performance, invoices, notices, and the parties’ conduct can all affect breach, causation, and damages. We build a chronology, identify the obligations in issue, assess available remedies, and prepare a strategy for negotiation or litigation.

When to call

When performance stops, a deadline is missed, the other side rejects an obligation, a termination notice arrives, or continuing the relationship may increase the loss.

Documents to gather
  • Signed agreement and amendments
  • Proposals, purchase orders, and invoices
  • Emails, messages, and formal notices
  • Proof of performance and claimed loss
Questions we assess
  • What exactly did each side promise?
  • Was the agreement later changed?
  • What loss did the breach cause?
  • What remedy is legally and commercially useful?
Test collectability before cost

Debt recovery & defence

An unpaid account may require a demand, negotiated payment terms, a court claim, judgment enforcement, or a defence to an amount that is not actually owing. We review the underlying transaction, proof of delivery, payment history, defences, limitation issues, and the practical likelihood of recovery before recommending the next step.

When to call

When invoices remain unpaid, payment promises keep moving, a demand letter arrives, the debtor disputes quality or scope, or there are signs that assets may disappear.

Documents to gather
  • Contracts, estimates, and invoices
  • Delivery or completion records
  • Account statements and payment history
  • Demands, responses, and settlement offers
Questions we assess
  • Is the debt documented and due?
  • Does the other side have a viable defence?
  • Is there a limitation concern?
  • Can a judgment realistically be enforced?
A proportionate forum

Small Claims Court

Ontario Small Claims Court hears claims for money or the return of personal property up to $50,000, excluding interest and costs. The process is more streamlined than Superior Court, but pleadings, service, evidence, settlement conferences, and enforcement still require preparation. We help clients evaluate the forum, frame or defend the claim, and organize the record.

When to call

Before filing or responding to a claim, abandoning an amount above the court’s limit, making a settlement offer, or preparing for a settlement conference or trial.

Documents to gather
  • Proposed or served claim and defence
  • Contracts, invoices, and receipts
  • Photographs and repair estimates
  • Chronology and witness information
Questions we assess
  • Is Small Claims Court the correct forum?
  • Has the claim been pleaded clearly?
  • What evidence proves each element?
  • How would a judgment be enforced?
Protect the paper trail

Property disputes

Property disputes can involve ownership, sale agreements, deposits, boundaries, access, damage, construction work, liens, or representations made before a transaction. The remedy may depend on title documents, contracts, expert evidence, and urgent steps to preserve rights. We identify the legal relationship and the evidence before choosing a procedural route.

When to call

When a transaction fails, access is blocked, property is damaged, money is held back, a lien or title issue appears, or delay could affect the property or available remedy.

Documents to gather
  • Agreement of purchase and sale
  • Title, survey, lease, or easement documents
  • Inspection reports and photographs
  • Invoices, estimates, and correspondence
Questions we assess
  • Who owns or controls the disputed right?
  • Is urgent relief required?
  • What expert evidence may be needed?
  • Can the dispute be resolved without impairing value?
Review the relationship and the exit

Employment disputes

Employment disputes may involve the contract, compensation, workplace policies, discipline, resignation, termination, or post-employment obligations. We review the written terms and actual working relationship, assess notice and contractual issues, and advise on negotiation or litigation from either side of the dispute.

When to call

Before a significant discipline or termination decision, after receiving a termination package or demand, or when restrictive covenants, compensation, or employment status are disputed.

Documents to gather
  • Employment agreement and amendments
  • Policies, reviews, and disciplinary records
  • Compensation and benefits information
  • Termination letter and later correspondence
Questions we assess
  • Which contractual terms are enforceable?
  • What notice or compensation is in issue?
  • Was the process documented?
  • What resolution protects future interests?
Connect duty, breach, and loss

Negligence claims

A poor result does not automatically establish negligence. A claim generally requires a recognized duty, a failure to meet the applicable standard, causation, and provable loss. We assess the relationship, conduct, records, available expert evidence, and damages before advising whether a claim or defence has a proportionate path forward.

When to call

When professional, commercial, or other conduct may have caused measurable loss, when a claim is threatened, or when records and expert evidence need to be preserved.

Documents to gather
  • Retainer, contract, or scope documents
  • Complete file and communications
  • Expert reports or technical records
  • Evidence of loss and mitigation efforts
Questions we assess
  • Was a legal duty owed?
  • What standard applied?
  • Did the conduct cause the claimed loss?
  • Is expert evidence required?
03
Decision pathway

From first question to an actionable record.

01

Assess

We identify the legal issues, parties, remedies, limitation concerns, and practical value of the claim or defence.

02

Preserve

We organize the chronology and protect contracts, messages, records, photographs, and witness information before evidence is lost.

03

Position

We frame the demand, response, claim, or defence around the evidence and the remedy that matters.

04

Resolve

We use negotiation, offers to settle, mediation, and procedural pressure where they can produce a sensible result.

05

Litigate

When resolution does not follow, we prepare the record for discovery, motions, trial, and enforcement.

Side by side

Small Claims Court or the Superior Court of Justice.

The size of the claim decides the forum, and the forum decides the cost, the timeline, and how much of your legal fees you can recover. This is the first question in most civil disputes we see.

Point of comparisonSmall Claims CourtSuperior Court of Justice
Claim limitUp to $50,000, excluding interest and costs. A larger claim can be brought here by abandoning the excess.No upper limit. Claims under $200,000 use the simplified procedure.
Where it is heardToronto Small Claims Court, 47 Sheppard Avenue East, for Toronto and Scarborough matters.393 University Avenue in Toronto; 7755 Hurontario Street in Brampton for Peel, including Mississauga.
How it runsPlaintiff's claim and defence, a settlement conference, then a trial. Discovery is limited and the rules are simpler.Pleadings, documentary and oral discovery, mediation in Toronto, a pre-trial, then trial. Each stage carries cost.
Typical timelineMonths from filing to trial, depending on the court's list.Commonly more than a year, and longer for a claim that goes to a full trial.
Recovering legal feesLimited by the Small Claims Court Rules; a winning party recovers a fraction of its fees.Partial indemnity costs are commonly awarded to the successful party, and the exposure runs the other way if you lose.
04
When clients call

The legal question usually arrives inside a business problem.

01
Hypothetical situation

A customer will not pay

The work is complete and invoices are overdue, but the customer now alleges delay and deficiencies that were never raised during the project.

Our focus: We compare the contract with the delivery record, assess the alleged set-off, test collectability, and choose between a demand, negotiated security, or a claim.

02
Hypothetical situation

A contract was terminated early

A long-term commercial relationship ends without the notice or payment one side expected, and both parties rely on different parts of the agreement.

Our focus: We analyze the termination language, later conduct, notice, mitigation, and damages, then build a position for early resolution or litigation.

03
Hypothetical situation

A claim has just been served

The deadline to respond has started, relevant records are held by several people, and management needs to understand both legal exposure and business disruption.

Our focus: We preserve the record, confirm response dates, assess insurance and third parties, and prepare a defence strategy before positions harden.

Prepare the file

Bring the record, not just the problem.

A complete first review makes the consultation more useful. Organize what you have; do not delay getting advice because one document is missing.

  1. 01Signed contracts, amendments, and standard terms
  2. 02Chronology of material events
  3. 03Emails, texts, notices, and settlement communications
  4. 04Invoices, payment records, and proof of loss
  5. 05Photographs, reports, and physical evidence
  6. 06Names and contact details for witnesses
  7. 07Existing demands, pleadings, and court orders
Risks to identify early
01

Limitation periods

Many Ontario claims are subject to a basic two-year limitation period running from discovery, but exceptions and other deadlines may apply. Delay can end a claim regardless of its merits.

02

Evidence changes quickly

Messages are deleted, staff leave, memories fade, and physical conditions change. Preserving the record early can decide what is provable later.

03

A judgment is not payment

Winning and collecting are separate questions. Assets, insurance, solvency, and enforcement options should inform the strategy before costs accumulate.

04

Process must fit the stakes

The strongest legal argument may still be a poor commercial decision if the likely recovery, delay, disruption, and legal cost are out of proportion.

Last reviewed: July 2026This page provides general legal information, not advice for a specific matter. Legal rights and deadlines depend on the facts.
What we do

Civil Litigation Lawyer matters we handle

Contract disputesBreach, non-performance, and disputed terms in commercial and personal agreements
Debt recovery & defenceUnpaid invoices and loans, and defending claims that are wrong or overstated
Small Claims CourtClaims up to $50,000 at 47 Sheppard Avenue East
Property disputesDeposits, damage, boundaries, and disagreements over goods
Employment disputesWrongful dismissal and unpaid entitlements
Negligence claimsLoss caused by another party's carelessness
In their words

Represented, and heard.

“Telesh Law Firm provides outstanding legal services. The team is highly knowledgeable — I would highly recommend.”
A.M · Google review
“Great lawyer to work with. Very responsive and accountable. Highly recommended!”
A. Singh · Google review
Common questions

Answers, in plain language.

Scarborough falls within the City of Toronto for court purposes. Claims up to $50,000, excluding interest and costs, are heard at the Toronto Small Claims Court at 47 Sheppard Avenue East. Larger claims proceed in the Superior Court of Justice at 393 University Avenue. There is no separate Scarborough civil courthouse.

You can proceed in the Superior Court of Justice, or abandon the amount over the limit and bring the claim in Small Claims Court. Abandoning the excess means giving up that portion permanently, but Small Claims is faster and materially less expensive to run. Whether the trade is worth it depends on the size of the excess against the likely difference in cost and delay — that is a calculation worth doing before you file.

Ontario's basic limitation period is two years from the day the claim was discovered, though the discovery date is not always the date the problem occurred and some claims have different periods. Because a missed limitation period ends a claim regardless of its merits, this is worth confirming early rather than assuming.

No, and we will tell you when it isn't. A claim that costs more to run than it can realistically recover, or against a defendant with no ability to pay a judgment, is usually not worth starting. Part of the first consultation is an honest assessment of whether the outcome justifies the cost.

Related
Free tool

Small Claims interest calculator

Prejudgment and postjudgment interest on a money judgment, at the rates the Ministry of the Attorney General publishes each quarter.

Open the calculator
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Speak with counsel

Book a consultation.

Book a consultation→416 · 639 · 0887
Consultations available in eight languages.