Northwest 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 John F. McCartney.

Form 14B Motions in the Northwest Region

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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
4. 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
5. 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).
6. 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.