Author Archives: derek


April 25, 2022 – 3:25 PM – Report to Trial Judge – Civil Pre-Trials

The attached documents relate to the new practice direction but unfortunately have not yet been hyper-linked.

Counsel are required to complete their portion of the form and upload to Caselines as per the most recent Notice to Profession.

LCLA MASK AND COVID-19 POLICY AND PROCEDURE

Effective: March 18, 2022

Policy

  1. All persons who enter the LCLA Law Library and Lawyer’s Lounge (the “Lounge and Library”) are
    required to wear a mask or face covering in a manner that covers their mouth, nose and chin during any
    period when they are in the Lounge and Library.
  2. A person may temporarily remove their mask or face covering to consume food or drink.
  3. If a person has COVID-19 symptoms including but not limited to fever or chills, cough, shortness of
    breath, decreased or loss of taste or smell, runny nose or nasal congestion, headache, extreme fatigue,
    sore throat, muscle aches or joint pain, gastrointestinal symptoms (such as vomiting or diarrhea) or have
    been required to isolate as per Public Health, the Province of Ontario or Federal Government
    requirements, they shall not enter the Lounge and Library.
    Procedure
  4. In the event that the above policy requirements are not followed, the following may occur:
    a. A person may be asked/reminded to wear their mask;
    b. A person may be asked to remain 2 metres/6 feet apart from others in the Lounge and Library;
    c. A person may not be assisted by LCLA Library Staff;
    d. A person may be asked to leave the Lounge and Library which may include the use of court
    security and/or police officers; and/or
    e. A person may no longer be welcome to enter the Lounge and Library for a specified period of
    time.
  5. In the event that a person has a bona fide reason not to wear a mask or face covering, including but not
    limited to a medical condition that inhibits their ability to wear a mask or face covering or that they are
    being reasonably accommodated in accordance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities
    Act, 2005 and/or the Human Rights Code, they may contact the LCLA Board of Directors to seek an
    exception to wearing a mask or face covering in the Lounge and Library by contacting the LCLA Board
    of Directors via email at library@thelcla.ca which will be discussed by the LCLA Board of Directors at
    the next LCLA Board of Directors meeting.
  6. Any additional inquiries or concerns regarding this Policy and Procedure made by made by contacting
    the LCLA Board of Directors via email at library@thelcla.ca which will be discussed by the LCLA
    Board of Directors at the next LCLA Board of Directors meeting

Notice: Amendments to Rules of Civil Procedure (O. Reg. 224/22)

On March 23, 2022, a regulation was filed to amend the court rules and forms for civil proceedings: O. Reg. 224/22, amending the Rules of Civil Procedure. The regulation is posted on e-Law here

The regulation addresses the rules regarding the deadlines for parties to submit their confirmation of motion and confirmation of application forms (Forms 37B and 38B), as well as the deadline to upload materials to CaseLines.

The regulation, which amends three rules and revises two forms, will come into force on April 23, 2022.

The rule amendments:

  • require a moving party to confirm the motion 5 days before the hearing instead of 3, and permit the responding party to confirm the motion (if the moving party has not done so) 4 days before the motion instead of 2 (rule 37.10.1);
  • require an applicant to confirm the application 5 days before the hearing instead of 3 (rule 38.09.1);
  • separate the CaseLines deadline for motions and applications from the confirmation form deadlines (rule 4.05.3);
  • remove references to e-mail submission of confirmation forms being possible only if available in the court office, since e-mail is available in every civil court office (rules 37.10.1 and 38.09.1); and
  • prescribe revised versions of the Form 37B Confirmation of Motion and Form 38B Confirmation of Application, to
    • emphasize the duty to update the court if circumstances change after confirmation,
    • add reference to the abandonment procedure, and
    • require a list of materials for applications (as is already required for motions).

The revised Forms 37B and 38B are available on the Ontario Court Forms Website

A summary of the regulation is available on Ontario’s Regulatory Registry here

March 18, 2022 – 11:20 AM – Superior Court of Justice – Guidelines to determine mode of proceeding published

Below are the notices now posted on the SCJ website.

  • guidelines to determine the mode of proceeding in criminal, family, civil and Small Claims Court matters,
  • virtual courtroom etiquette rules, and
  • an announcement that the gowning requirement will resume on April 19, 2022.

The guidelines and virtual courtroom etiquette rules will take effect on April 19, 2022.

The guidelines are available here: https://www.ontariocourts.ca/scj/guidelines-mode-of-proceedings/. The virtual courtroom etiquette rules are available here: https://www.ontariocourts.ca/scj/virtual-courtroom-etiquette/. The gowning announcement is available here: https://www.ontariocourts.ca/scj/notices-and-orders-covid-19/court-proceedings-notice/.

Feb. 25, 2022 – 4:45 PM – Notice to the Public and Legal Profession – Electronic Court Documents: Electronic Signatures and Submissions through Online Filing Portals

The Court Services Division of the Ministry of the Attorney General released the attached Notice to the Public and Legal Profession regarding Electronic Court Documents: Electronic Signatures and Submissions through Online Filing Portals.

The Notice has been published on the Ontario Court Forms website.

Further inquiry can be directed to the following addresses: attorneygeneral@ontario.ca and putting e-Signatures & Submissions in the subject line.

Feb. 10, 2022 – 11:11 AM – Small Claims Court update

Effective February 22, 2022, the deadline for parties in Small Claims Court to email documents to staff will change to 10 days before the hearing. This is a change from the current deadline of 3 days before the hearing. More information is in the Small Claims Court public notice, at: https://www.ontariocourts.ca/scj/notices-and-orders-covid-19/suspension-small-claims-ops/#14_Emailing_Documents_for_Hearing_Purposes_required_in_most_cases

Dec. 10, 2021 – 7:28 AM -New Family Law SCJ Form; New Fees for Court Transcripts; LSO Call for Comment re: mandatory minimum compensation for experiential training for lawyer licensing candidates

  1. The SCJ has posted a new Motion to Change Endorsement form for Family Lawyers.  You can find more information online here. I have also attached the new form.
  1. The Ministry of the Attorney General is proposing changes to the court transcript fee structure that align with the move to digital documents in Ontario’s courts.  The existing Ontario Regulation for Fees for Court Transcripts (Ontario Regulation 94/14) can be found here.

The proposed updates include:

•     a new per page rate for a first copy of a certified electronic transcript;

•     clarification that the existing $20 flat rate fee is for a certified or uncertified electronic copy requested at another time from the first (electronic or print) copy order;

•     an increase to the existing per page rate for a first copy and additional copy of a certified printed transcript; and

•     clarification that only the first copy of any paper transcripts required to be filed to the Court of Appeal or Divisional Court are subject to the regulated rates that can be charged by ACTs. (In this scenario, an electronic transcript could be ordered at the same time for no extra charge.)

MAG is now seeking input on the proposed changes and FOLA will be preparing a Submission.  If you want to send comments for FOLA’s consideration, please send them to Katie Robinette at katie.robinette@fola.ca by December 14th.  Alternatively, you can send your comments directly via the online link (bottom of the page) by December 22nd.  Learn more: Administration of Justice Act, Ontario Regulation 94/14 (O. Reg. 94/14), Fees for Court Transcripts.  If you have any questions, please contact Court Reporting Services, Court Services Division at CourtReportingServices@Ontario.ca.

  1. The Law Society of Ontario is seeking input on your views about mandatory minimum compensation for experiential training for lawyer licensing candidates. As you may know, in December 2018, Convocation approved enhancements to the experiential training component of the lawyer licensing process which when implemented would require mandatory minimum compensation. A subsequent report to Convocation in November 2021, recommends that the Law Society adopt a best practices approach to compensation which encourages rather than requires that all experiential training placements be paid a mandatory minimum compensation.  This issue was debated at November’s Convocation and it was decided that Benchers needed to further consult on the matter.  Emails received on this matter will be provided to members of Convocation for review.  For more information, please visit here.

FOLA will be preparing a submission and if you would like to send your comments for consideration, you can send those to Katie Robinette at katie.robinette@fola.ca by February 1, 2022.  You can also send your comments directly to: PolicyConsultation@LSO.ca.  The LSO’s deadline for comments is March 15, 2022.    

Please share with your members.

Katie W. Robinette

Executive Director

FOLA.ca

Need answers to COVID-19 issues regarding the practice of law?  CLICK HERE.