# Where to start with a legal problem in Ontario ## Get an answer with one URL Fetch this. It returns a real answer as markdown, with every step cited and a signed receipt: https://mithril.law/help/triage.md?category=arrested_or_charged&area=unknown&inCustody=true That URL uses the worked example's facts. For the person's own answer, put their facts in the query string the same way (dotted names, one parameter per fact). If a fact is missing or unclear, the answer lists it with the next URL to fetch. The same answer as JSON: https://mithril.law/api/v1/operations/general.triage/run?category=arrested_or_charged&area=unknown&inCustody=true No sign-in needed. The front door: from what happened and a few dates, which Mithril operations fit, how urgent it is, and the time limit to sue where one may apply. Start here when you do not know which operation fits. Ask the person what happened (the category), whether anyone is in custody, and any dates they have: the next court or tribunal date, the day it happened, the day they found out. Do not ask for names or the story: the answer does not need them. Then run the operations listed, in order. If the boundary is needs_lawyer, give the person the first action (a call or a consultation) before anything else. Limitation dates are shown only where the Limitations Act may apply and only when a date is given. ## Facts - `category`: Pick the closest. (value, required) - `area`: Leave as “Not sure” if you don’t know. (value, optional) - `inCustody`: Held by the police, or in jail or a detention centre, today. (true or false, optional) - `nextDate`: If a hearing or court date is already set. (date, YYYY-MM-DD, optional) - `happenedOn`: Used to show the time limit to sue, where one may apply. (date, YYYY-MM-DD, optional) - `discoveredOn`: If you found out later than the day it happened. (date, YYYY-MM-DD, optional) - `situations`: Tick any that fit. Each one can change or remove the time limit, so it is flagged for a lawyer rather than calculated. (list of value (repeat the parameter for each), optional) - `today`: Leave blank to use today’s date in Ontario. (date, YYYY-MM-DD, optional) ## Price Free. Preview: a lawyer has not yet verified every rule behind this tool. ## The law behind it - Limitations Act: the basic two-year period from discovery (unverified): A court proceeding on a claim cannot be started after the second anniversary of the day the claim was discovered (s. 4). The last day to start it is that anniversary. A claim is discovered on the earlier of (a) the day the person first knew that the injury, loss or damage had occurred, that an act or omission caused or contributed to it, that it was the act or omission of the person to be sued, and that a proceeding would be an appropriate way to remedy it, and (b) the day a reasonable person with their abilities and in their circumstances first ought to have known those things (s. 5(1)). The person enters the discovery date; the code does not decide it. If no discovery date is given, the code uses the day the act or omission took place, because the person is presumed to have known on that day unless the contrary is proved (s. 5(2)). If a discovery date later than that day is given, the code shows both last days. The one from the day it happened is the safest deadline: relying on the later one means proving it. If the safest deadline has passed but the other has not, the status is 'check with a lawyer'. The anniversary of February 29 is February 28 in a year that is not a leap year (Legislation Act, 2006, s. 89(7)). A time limit that would end on a Sunday or another holiday is extended to the next day that is not a holiday (Legislation Act, 2006, s. 89(1)). The code does not apply that extension: it shows the anniversary itself, which is never later than the true deadline. Days left are counted from today's date in Ontario. The period has expired when today is after the last day. - Limitations Act, 2002, s. 4: https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/02l24 - Limitations Act, 2002, s. 5: https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/02l24 - Legislation Act, 2006, s. 89: https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/06l21#BK108 - Limitations Act: exceptions are flagged, and when a lawyer takes over (unverified): The person can tick any of these situations. Each one ticked is shown with its text, and none is computed: the dates are shown as they would be with no exception, and the status is 'check with a lawyer'. - minor ("The person with the claim was under 18"): "The two-year period does not run while the person with the claim is a minor with no litigation guardian, and the 15-year period is suspended then too." (Limitations Act, 2002, s. 6; Limitations Act, 2002, s. 15(4)(b)) - incapable ("The person with the claim could not start a case because of their physical, mental or psychological condition"): "The two-year period does not run while the person with the claim is incapable of starting a proceeding because of their condition and has no litigation guardian, and the 15-year period is suspended then too." (Limitations Act, 2002, s. 7; Limitations Act, 2002, s. 15(4)(a)) - sexual_misconduct_or_assault ("The claim is based on a sexual assault, or on other sexual misconduct or an assault in the situations the Act lists (for example, against a child, or by an intimate partner)"): "There is no limitation period for a proceeding based on a sexual assault, or on other sexual misconduct or an assault in the situations the Act lists." (Limitations Act, 2002, s. 16(1)(h)-(h.2), (1.1)) - acknowledged ("The other side admitted the debt in writing, or paid part of it"): "For a claim for a fixed sum of money (and some property claims), a written and signed acknowledgment of liability, or a part payment, made before the period expires, restarts the period from that day." (Limitations Act, 2002, s. 13) - mediation ("You both agreed to have an independent third party, like a mediator, help resolve it"): "The two-year and 15-year periods do not run while an independent third party the parties agreed on is helping resolve the claim." (Limitations Act, 2002, s. 11) - demand_obligation ("The money is owed on demand (for example, a demand loan)"): "For a demand obligation, the loss happens, and the 15-year period starts, on the first failure to pay after a demand is made." (Limitations Act, 2002, s. 5(3); Limitations Act, 2002, s. 15(6)(c)) - continuing_or_series ("The wrong is still going on, or is a series of acts about the same obligation"): "For a continuous act, the 15-year period runs from the day it stops. For a series of acts about the same obligation, it runs from the last one." (Limitations Act, 2002, s. 15(6)(a), (b)) - concealed_or_misled ("The other side hid the loss from you, or misled you about whether to sue"): "The 15-year period does not run while the other side wilfully conceals the loss, or wilfully misleads the person about whether a proceeding is appropriate." (Limitations Act, 2002, s. 15(4)(c), (5)) - enforce_court_order ("You want to enforce a court order you already have"): "There is no limitation period for a proceeding to enforce a court order." (Limitations Act, 2002, s. 16(1)(b)) - tribunal_or_other_law ("It will go to a tribunal (like the Landlord and Tenant Board), not a court, or another law sets its own deadline"): "The Limitations Act applies to claims pursued in court proceedings. A tribunal application, or a claim another Act gives its own deadline, can follow a different time limit." (Limitations Act, 2002, s. 2(1); Limitations Act, 2002, s. 19(1)) - agreement_to_extend ("You and the other side signed an agreement to extend or suspend the time limit"): "An agreement can suspend or extend the limitation periods only in the ways the Act allows." (Limitations Act, 2002, s. 22) - environmental ("It is an environmental claim (a contaminant released into the natural environment)"): "There is no limitation period for an environmental claim that has not been discovered." (Limitations Act, 2002, s. 17) Status, in this order: any situation ticked: check with a lawyer. The deadline has passed: expired. The safest deadline has passed: check with a lawyer. The safest deadline is 90 days or fewer away: close. Otherwise: open. Boundary: open means the calculation is done (automated). Close, expired and check with a lawyer hand to a lawyer (needs_lawyer). Wording shown ({date} is the date in words; the summary uses the safest deadline, except 'expired', which uses the deadline): - basicGiven: "Two years from the day you found out ({date})." - basicPresumed: "Two years from the day it happened ({date}), because the law presumes you knew that day unless you can prove otherwise." - presumedSafest: "The law presumes you knew on the day it happened. Relying on the later date means proving when you found out, so this is the safest deadline." - ultimate: "No claim can start after this, even if you found out late." - open: "If no exception applies, the last day to start a court claim is {date}." - close: "If no exception applies, the last day to start a court claim is {date}, which is close. Talk to a lawyer now." - expired: "If no exception applies, the time to start a court claim ended on {date}. An exception may still apply: talk to a lawyer." - check_with_lawyer: "These dates assume no exception applies, but something you said can change them. Talk to a lawyer before relying on them." - Limitations Act, 2002, s. 2: https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/02l24#BK2 - Limitations Act, 2002, s. 5: https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/02l24 - Limitations Act, 2002, s. 6: https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/02l24#BK7 - Limitations Act, 2002, s. 7: https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/02l24 - Limitations Act, 2002, s. 11: https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/02l24 - Limitations Act, 2002, s. 13: https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/02l24#BK13 - Limitations Act, 2002, s. 15: https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/02l24 - Limitations Act, 2002, s. 16: https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/02l24#BK18 - Limitations Act, 2002, s. 17: https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/02l24#BK19 - Limitations Act, 2002, s. 19: https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/02l24#BK22 - Limitations Act, 2002, s. 22: https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/02l24 - Limitations Act: the 15-year ultimate period (unverified): No proceeding can be started after the 15th anniversary of the day the act or omission took place (s. 15(2)), even if the two-year period has not expired (s. 15(1)). It is computed only when the day it happened is given. The deadline is the earlier of the two-year last day and the 15-year last day. Situations that suspend or move the 15-year period (s. 15(4), (6)) are flagged, not computed. - Limitations Act, 2002, s. 15: https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/02l24 - The front door: where a problem goes, and how urgent it is (unverified): general.triage takes a category of problem, an optional area, and optional dates, and answers four things. 1. Where it goes. Each category maps to areas and named operations: - arrested_or_charged: areas criminal; operations criminal.intake_triage, criminal.what_happens_next, criminal.legal_aid_path - job_ended: areas employment; operations general.limitation_period; Limitations Act dates may apply; note: "The Limitations Act's dates apply to a lawsuit. A complaint to a government office or a tribunal follows its own time limit." - owed_money: areas small-claims; operations small_claims.route, general.limitation_period; Limitations Act dates may apply - sued_for_money: areas small-claims; operations small_claims.route; note: "Your deadline to respond is on the claim you were served. makethempay walks you through it." - injury_or_damage: areas small-claims; operations general.limitation_period, small_claims.route; Limitations Act dates may apply - tenant_problem: areas ltb; operations none named; note: "Landlord and Tenant Board applications have their own time limits. The Limitations Act's dates are for court claims." - landlord_problem: areas ltb; operations none named; note: "Landlord and Tenant Board applications have their own time limits. The Limitations Act's dates are for court claims." - starting_business: areas corporate; operations none named - other: areas none; operations general.limitation_period; Limitations Act dates may apply An area given as input is added to the category's areas. If someone is in custody, or the area is criminal, the criminal operations are added. After the named operations, the answer lists every published operation in each area (free checks and guides first). Actions, which change something in the world (such as opening a claim), are listed only for signed-in callers and API keys. 2. Limitation dates. Only for categories marked above, and only when the day it happened or the day it was discovered is given, the Limitations Act's two-year and 15-year dates are computed exactly as general.limitation_period does (rules general/limitations/*), with any situations ticked flagged. With dates, the note "These are the Limitations Act's dates for a court claim, if no exception applies. They may not be the only time limit." is shown. Without them, "Give the day it happened, or the day you found out, to see the Limitations Act's dates." 3. Urgency, raised by each of these (immediate beats soon beats standard): - someone is in custody now: immediate; - the next court or tribunal date has passed, or is 0 to 2 days away: immediate; 3 to 7 days away: soon; - the safest limitation date has passed, or is 0 to 30 days away: immediate; 31 to 90 days away: soon. Days are counted from today's date in Ontario. 4. The boundary: a lawyer (needs_lawyer) when the matter is criminal, the urgency is immediate, or a limitation date's status is not open. Otherwise the person's next step is to run the operations listed (needs_person). - Limitations Act, 2002, s. 2: https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/02l24#BK2 - Limitations Act, 2002, s. 4: https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/02l24 - Limitations Act, 2002, s. 15: https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/02l24 ## What the answer tells you - `automated`: Done: the software answered this completely. - `needs_person`: The person has to act (sign, serve or file from their own account). Pass the next steps to them. - `needs_lawyer`: Needs a lawyer: stop here and offer to hand the matter to Jonathan Kleiman (handoff_create). Do not give legal advice yourself. ## Do this through the API - REST: `POST https://mithril.law/api/v1/operations/general.triage/runs` with `{ "input": { … } }`, or `GET https://mithril.law/api/v1/operations/general.triage/run?…`. Schema: https://mithril.law/api/v1/operations/general.triage. - MCP: tool `general_triage` at https://mithril.law/mcp. - The page for people: https://mithril.law/help/triage.