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East Region Practice Direction Regarding Form 14B Motions
The Superior Court’s policy is to support timely case conferences
in which parties are afforded sufficient judicial time to have a meaningful
hearing. However, inadequate judicial resources present a scheduling
challenge that makes consistent application of this policy across all
judicial regions difficult to achieve.
Consequently, in order to assist litigants and their lawyers in making
the best use of available conference time, the Superior Court will
encourage greater use of Form 14B motions whenever it will make the
case conference process more effective. Form 14B motions allow parties
to address certain threshold issues prior to the case conference and
are designed to streamline conferencing in Family Law proceedings.
Such motions are limited to procedural, uncomplicated or unopposed
matters that will promote the concept of fewer, but more meaningful,
case conferences. In this respect, Form 14B motions procedures will
be guided by the following Practice Direction commencing March 1, 2008.
Dated, February 22, 2008.
Chief Justice Heather J. Smith.
Regional Senior Judge Monique Métivier.
Form 14B Motions in the East Region
- Subrules 14(6)(e.2) and (10) provide that motions are permissible
before a case conference, and without the need to demonstrate urgency
or hardship, if the request for relief is limited to “procedural,
uncomplicated or unopposed matters”. Relief is requested using Form
14B.
- Before a case conference is held, lawyers and self represented
litigants are strongly encouraged to use Form 14B to obtain any orders
that are needed to make the case conference a more meaningful
and productive process.
- Examples of appropriate orders include:
· Orders of either a procedural or substantive nature that are on consent,
or unopposed
· A request for the appointment of the Office of the Children’s Lawyer
· Orders to add a party or obtain discovery from a third party
Orders for production of documents, permission for oral questioning
or other issues pertaining to discovery
· Enforcement of an order to provide information, produce a document
or serve and file a financial statement or other document
· Any other procedural order or direction needed to promote a meaningful
case conference
· “uncomplicated” requests for substantive relief
- Requests for an order shall be considered “uncomplicated” only
if
· oral submissions can be made in five minutes or less for each
side, and
· affidavit material in support of the request for relief is three
pages or less in length
- Requests that are without notice, on consent or unopposed will
be determined by a judge in chambers. All other requests will be
determined in motions court or by conference telephone call. The
Form 14B should specify the court location, date and time for the
hearing unless a conference call had been arranged under Rule 14(8).
- A copy of Form 14B is attached. Blank forms are available for
self represented parties at the courthouse. Form 14B (and any other
form) also can be downloaded from the government website, www.ontariocourtforms.on.ca.
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