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Practice Direction for Civil Applications, Motions and other Matters in the Toronto Region (superseded)On January 1, 2010 significant changes to the Rules of Civil Procedure will come into force. This Practice Direction identifies scheduling and administrative changes to facilitate more expeditious and efficient civil litigation under the Rules. It replaces the following documents which are hereby revoked: (i) Toronto Region Masters’ Office Scheduling Memorandum dated June 12, 1998; This Practice Direction does not apply to motions or applications heard on the Commercial List, Estates List, or under the Class Proceedings Act, 1992, unless specifically mentioned. I. Applications and Motions Forms (Word): I. Applications and Motions[1] Applications and motions that require two hours or less for all parties to argue are considered short. Applications and motions that require more than two hours for all parties to argue are considered long. [2] Short applications and short motions must be booked through the Civil Scheduling Unit (except masters' motions in construction lien actions or within a reference). [3] An attendance at Motions Scheduling Court before a judge will be required to schedule: (i) the urgent hearing of matters before a judge; [4] Long motions before a master must be booked by filing a requisition with Masters Administration. Different procedures are outlined below for booking long motions before a master in case-managed actions and in construction lien actions or within a reference. A. Short applications or short motions before a Judge or Master[5] Short applications and short motions (except summary judgment motions and motions in references and construction lien actions) may be booked through the Civil Scheduling Unit, 10th Floor, 393 University Ave, M5G 1E6, tel: 416-327-5535, e-mail: jus.g.mag.csd.civilmotionsscheduling. Parties must consult with each other to select a return date convenient to all parties and which will permit all parties to file all necessary materials and conduct any examinations before the return date. At the time of booking, a realistic estimate of the time required by all parties for argument must be provided. [6] When a party books a return date for a short application or short motion, it must provide the Civil Scheduling Unit with the information provided in the Requisition to Schedule Short Motion or Application (Word). If booking by e-mail, the Requisition to Schedule Short Motion or Application form should be sent by e-mail to the Civil Scheduling Unit. The form must be included with the motion material when filed. [7] Short motions in construction lien actions are not booked through the Civil Scheduling Unit, but through the Masters Construction Lien and Reference Office on the 6th Floor 393 University Ave., or by telephone to 416-327-5481. [8] Short motions and hearings for directions within a reference are not booked through the Civil Scheduling Unit but through the registrar of the master assigned to conduct the reference. B. Matters Before a Judge – Motions Scheduling Court i. Long applications or long motions before a Judge [9] Return dates for (i) long applications or long motions before a Judge, (ii) urgent applications or urgent motions before a Judge; or (iii) Motions for Summary Judgment before a Judge must be arranged through an attendance at Motions Scheduling Court. Appointments for a Motions Scheduling Court attendance can be booked by e-mailing MotionsSchedulingCourt, along with a completed Requisition to Attend Motion Scheduling Court (Word). [10] Information about the current start time, location and contact information for Motions Scheduling Court can be found on the Civil Proceedings – Civil Motions webpage on the Superior Court of Justice website, www.ontariocourts.ca/scj. [11] Before appearing at Motions Scheduling Court, parties must seek to establish an agreed timetable for the completion of all steps required prior to the hearing of the application or motion and to bring a copy of the timetable to Motions Scheduling Court for approval by the judge. [12] Amended Rule 20 contemplates that some summary judgment motions will proceed by way of a hybrid hearing (written record, plus some oral evidence) or by way of a hearing on the written record followed closely by a tailored trial of issues. Scheduling the expeditious hearing of these new Rule 20 motions will require greater management by the judiciary. Accordingly, all motions for summary judgment will undergo a scheduling and monitoring process commencing with an attendance at Motions Scheduling Court. [13] In addition, in the normal course, the court will contact the parties a few weeks before the hearing of the summary judgment motion to inquire into its status, its readiness for hearing, and whether oral evidence may be required at the hearing of the motion. If the parties advise or the court determines that the motion is not ready for hearing, the parties may receive further directions from the court regarding the scheduling of the hearing of the motion. C. Matters before Masters(i) Long motions before a Master [14] Long motions before a master are not arranged through the Civil Scheduling Unit or Motions Scheduling Court. A Requisition to Schedule Long Motion (Word) must be completed and delivered to Masters Administration on the 6th floor 393 University Ave. or by fax 416-327-6405 or by e-mail to Masters.LongMotions. Once the requisition is received, a master will be assigned to hear the motion. [15] If the action is case managed, a requisition is not necessary and a request for a long motion may be sent directly to the registrar for the master who is managing the action. Long motions in construction lien actions require an appointment with the Construction Lien Master to be arranged through the Masters Construction Lien and Reference Office. All long motions require a telephone case conference with the master who will be hearing the motion in order to determine the length of time required, set a timetable for any remaining steps before the hearing of the motion and fix a return date for the motion. If the motion is for refusals and undertakings, both moving and responding parties are expected to have completed refusals and undertaking charts grouped by issue and completed in accordance with rules 37.10(10)(a) and (b) prior to the case conference to allow a realistic time for the hearing to be set. (ii) Ex-Parte motions before a Master [16] After attending at the motions office, motions made without notice or consent motions may be walked into Masters’ Ex-Parte Motions Court any day that a master is sitting. If the motion must be heard before the next date that an ex-parte master is sitting, or if the motion must be on notice, the Civil Scheduling Unit will direct you to appear before the Duty Master. The Duty Master will determine if the matter is urgent and if urgent, will hear the motion or attempt to have it heard by another master. [17] Motions made without notice and consent motions in construction lien actions are heard daily from 9:30 to 10:00 a.m. (iii) Motions before a Master from the Class Proceedings, Commercial and Estates Lists [18] If the motion is under the Class Proceedings Act, 1992, or a proceeding on the Commercial List or Estates List, a written direction will be required from a judge on the respective list permitting the motion to be heard by a master. Similarly, if the action has been assigned to a judge under rule 37.15 or rule 77.06, a direction from that judge that a master be appointed to hear motions within the master’s jurisdiction will be necessary. D. Motions which must be brought before a Master[19] A master has jurisdiction to hear any motion in a proceeding except those specified in rule 37.02(2). Subject to paragraph 18, Masters’ motions must be made to a master. Unless the relief requested in the motion is within the exclusive jurisdiction of a judge, a motion returnable by attendance or in writing must be made to “the Court” and heard by a master. Judges may refuse to hear any motion that is within the jurisdiction of a master. E. Motions in writing[20] Unless otherwise directed by a judge or master, motions in writing should be filed in the Civil Intake Office, 10th Floor, 393 University Avenue. Motions in writing in a construction lien file or reference should be filed at the Masters Construction Lien and Reference Office located on the 6th Floor, 393 University Avenue. F. Simplified Procedure Discovery Motions[21] Motions concerning issues arising from examinations for discovery in Simplified Procedure actions will be scheduled for a maximum of 30 minutes in total. All parties are expected to complete oral argument of the motion within the time scheduled, subject to leave from the presiding master in exceptional cases. Parties are encouraged to use rule 34.12 and answer questions that are objected to. G. Confirmation of Applications and Motions[22] In accordance with rules 37.10.1 and 38.09.1, the Confirmation Form for motions and applications must be filed by the applicant or moving party with the registrar not later than 2 p.m. three days (not two days) before the hearing date. Parties must confer as to the time required before sending in the Confirmation Form. Estimated time must not exceed time booked. Parties are expected to adhere to the time requested. H. Adjournments[23] Short applications and short motions can be adjourned twice through the Civil Scheduling Unit (or the Masters Construction Lien and Reference Office, if applicable); any further adjournments of these matters must be spoken to in court. [24] To adjourn a long application or long motion scheduled before a judge, counsel must appear in Motions Scheduling Court and speak to the adjournment. [25] Long Motion dates before a master may be adjourned only with leave of the assigned master at a case conference requested for that purpose before the motion date. [26] Where a matter has been adjourned and materials have been previously filed with the court, parties are responsible to ensure that all previously filed materials to be relied upon for this particular hearing are pulled from the file or ordered from storage, if applicable, and brought to staff in the court office, at least one week prior to the new hearing date. II. Requests for Assignment to Case Management: Rule 77.05[27] Under rule 77.01(2)1, parties are required to assume the greater share of responsibility for managing their own actions. However, “light touch” case management under Rule 77 is available on an “as needed/as requested” basis in accordance with the provisions of the rule. [28] Consent or unopposed requests for assignment to case management may be made to the Administrative Master, or the Regional Senior Judge, or designate, in the case of a request for case management by a judge, by completing a Request for Case Management (Word). Consent by itself is insufficient and parties must explain why case management is necessary having regard to the circumstances and the criteria set out in rule 77.05(4). Case management will not be assigned to actions that fail to meet the prescribed criteria. If the request is granted, the Administrative Master or Regional Senior Judge, or designate, will assign a master or judge to case manage the action. [29] Opposed requests for assignment to case management must be brought by way of motion: (i) in the case of a request for case management by a master, on notice returnable in Masters’ Motions Court before any case management master; or, (ii) in the case of a request for case management by a judge, on notice returnable in Motions Scheduling Court. [30] If the master grants the motion he or she will become the managing master. [31] Once a master is assigned to case manage a proceeding he or she will hear all motions in that proceeding within the jurisdiction of a master and will be available for case conferences. [32] If a motion for case management by a judge is granted, the Regional Senior Judge or designate will assign a judge to case manage the proceeding. [33] Requests under rules 37.15 or 77.06 for the appointment of a judge to hear all motions or steps in a proceeding shall be made in writing to the Regional Senior Judge, or designate. A judge normally will not be assigned under rules 37.15 or 77.06 unless there is a likelihood of a significant number of motions or other steps in the proceeding that are within the exclusive jurisdiction of a judge. III. Mandatory Mediation[34] All actions commenced in Toronto Region are subject to mandatory mediation under rule 24.1 except those actions excluded in rules 24.1.04(2) and (2.1). [35] A mediation session must take place within 180 days after the first defence has been filed, unless a consent under rule 24.1.09(3) has been filed or the court orders otherwise. [36] Court staff will not accept for filing a trial record (ordinary action) or a notice of readiness for pre-trial conference (Simplified Procedure action) unless the party setting the action down for trial files a Certificate (Word) indicating proof that: (i) form 24.1A (notice of name of mediator and date of session) has been filed with the mediation co-ordinator; (ii) the report by mediator (indicating that the mediation has been concluded) has been filed with the mediation co-ordinator; (iii) an order has been obtained from a judge or case management master exempting the action from mediation; or, (iv) an order has been obtained from a judge or case management master extending the deadline for mediation until after the action is set down for trial. These requirements will apply even where the parties have agreed to postpone a mediation session to a date more than 180 days after the first defence has been filed as permitted by rule 24.1. [37] A motion for an order exempting the action from mediation should be made to any master (unless the action is being case managed by a judge or a specific master). The motion should be returnable in motions court or by case conference if the action is case managed. Motions in writing on consent will be considered if sufficient reasons are given. IV. Certification of an Action to Set Pre-Trial and Trial Dates[38] The practice of certifying an action ready for trial continues in the Toronto Region. Approximately 60 days after a trial record is filed, the Civil Trial Office will send to the party who set the action down for trial a Certification Form to Set Pre-Trial and Trial Dates (Word), together with a list of available trial dates. After consultation with the opposing counsel or party, the party who received the form must complete and return the Certification Form to the Civil Trial Office. [39] If a completed Certification Form is not returned by the date specified on the covering memo, the action will be struck from the trial list. [40] In order to restore an action that has been struck from the trial list the parties must: (i) Obtain an order granting leave from a case management master or judge under rule 48.11 to restore it to the trial list; and thereafter, (ii) Attend the main file room on the 10th floor of 393 University Ave. and arrange to have the original trial record pulled and taken with the court order to the Civil Intake Counter. The action will then be re-instated to the trial list and the trial record returned to the trial office. The trial office will treat the action as a new matter and forward new certification forms [41] If an opposing party will not co-operate in completing the Certification Form within a reasonable time, a party can arrange an appearance before a judge in a “To Be Spoken To Court” which usually is held each Monday at 9:30 a.m. Information about how to arrange an appearance in “To Be Spoken To Court” can be found on the Civil Proceedings – Civil Motions webpage on the Superior Court of Justice website, www.ontariocourts.ca/scj. [42] Once trial dates are set, there will be no adjournments of the trial except in the case of an emergency. [43] Rule 48.04 provides that a party who sets an action down for trial or consents to placing the action on the trial list cannot initiate or continue any form of discovery or interlocutory motion without leave of the court. Leave will be granted only in rare circumstances. V. Materials for use of the Court[44] Factums are required for all applications. Factums are required for all motions over two hours (except undertakings and refusals motions) and are strongly encouraged for all other motions. No factum may exceed 30 pages, unless leave is granted. For longer or more complex motions, the court always finds it helpful for the parties to file electronic copies of their factums in Word format. Electronic copies should be attached to the hard copy of the factum filed with the court and should be labelled with the court file name and number, event and content of the disk, as well as the return date of the matter. [45] Cases contained in books of authorities should be copied on both sides of a page. Electronic copies of books of authorities are helpful in longer or more complex motions. [46] Parties are encouraged to refer to a pending Best Practices document which offers further guidance to the bar when bringing motions or applications, particularly on matters involving voluminous materials. VI. Administrative Forms[47] Administrative forms not prescribed under the Rules of Civil Procedure and used by the Civil Scheduling Unit may be obtained from the Civil Scheduling Unit or can be found on the Civil Proceedings – Civil Motions webpage on the Superior Court of Justice website, www.ontariocourts.ca/scj. VII. Effective Date[48] This Practice Direction comes into effect January 1, 2010. Edward Then Heather J. Smith
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