Notice To The Public and Profession for Central South Region

Brantford – BrantfS@ontario.ca

URGENT MATTERS

Urgent matters are matters which require immediate access to the court and for which it is impractical to follow the standard procedures. Generally, a matter is urgent if a court order is necessary to preserve life, the health or safety of a child, liberty, property, to address the immediate danger of a child’s removal from Ontario and time is of the essence. Urgent requests are to be made by e-mail to the respective Trial Coordinator offices.

Hamilton (Civil & Criminal) – Hamilton.Superior.Court@ontario.ca

Hamilton (Family) – Hamilton.Family.Superior.Court@ontario.ca

Kitchener /Waterloo – Kitchener.Superior.Court@ontario.ca

St. Catharines- St.Catharines.Superior.Court@ontario.ca

Brantford – BrantfS@ontario.ca

The email shall describe the relief requested and why the matter is urgent and shall attach a draft of the proposed Notice of Motion or other originating document but not all of the materials for the hearing itself.

However, for Family Law matters, any affidavits should be attached at the same time.

The request for urgency will be reviewed by a judge and, if accepted, the court will provide further direction.

If the matter is found to be urgent, the materials for the hearing are to be filed with the specific court offices as set out under the sections dealing with Criminal, Civil, and Family matters for each courthouse.

FILING COURT DOCUMENTS

Documents MUST be filed through the appropriate portals set out herein, or the documents, whether attempting to be filed electronically or in person, will be rejected.

All documents filed with the court MUST be filed in accordance with the following Naming Convention, failing which, the documents may NOT be before the court:

The type of document, the type of party filing the document, the name of party (if more than one), and the date: DD-MMM-YYYY.

For example, the documents set out below should be filed as follows:

Notice of Motion-Moving Party-ABC Corp. 14-JUL-2020

Affidavit of Service-Applicant-Wong 21-NOV-2020

Statement of Defence-Defendant-XYZ Ltd. 02-JAN-2021

Compendium-Responding Party-Patel 03-MAR-2021

Factum-Intervenor-Attorney General 11-NOV-2020

Court filed documents in criminal, civil and family proceedings must comply with the court filing requirements in:

4.01 of the Criminal Proceedings Rules;
4.01 to 12 of the Rules of Civil Procedure;
the Family Law Rules and Province-wide Notice to the Profession Regarding Family Law Cases

Court documents which do not comply with these document standards, including the maximum length for such documents will NOT be accepted for filing (and therefore cannot be uploaded to Case Center).

CASELINES

The following events require that the necessary documents, once accepted by the court office after filing, be uploaded to CASELINES:

Criminal

Bail Review/Bail Hearings/Applications
Summary Conviction Appeals
Pre-Trial Motions/Applications
Judicial Pre-Trials

Civil

Civil Pre-Trials
Trials
Long Motions- including Summary Judgment Motions

Family

Settlement Conferences
Trial Management Conferences/Trial Scheduling Conferences
Long Motions – including Summary Judgment Motions
Trials

NOTE: Child Protection matters are not yet approved for Case Center.

If you have received an email from Case Center inviting you to a case, click the link provided and upload the documents you will rely on for your hearing. Documents must be uploaded at least 5 days in advance of the hearing unless directed otherwise.

See links for additional information on Case Center:

CaseLine Tips

Case Center – FAQ’s

CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS

All filings for Criminal matters are to be filed through the following email addresses:

Hamilton – Hamilton.OCJ.courts@ontario.ca

Kitchener /Waterloo – Kitchener.OCJ.Courts@onario.ca

St. Catharines- St.Catharines.Superior.Court@ontario.ca

Provincial Practice Direction /Amendment to the Criminal Proceedings Rules Regarding Criminal Proceedings | Superior Court of Justice (ontariocourts.ca)

Brantford – Brantfordscjcourt@ontario.ca

Cayuga – HaldimandCountyCourt@ontario.ca

Simcoe –Simcoe.SCJ.Courts@ontario.ca

Parties must comply with the current Province Wide Practice Direction in Criminal proceedings:

This Provincial Practice Direction covers the following topics:

Part I: Interpretation and Application of this Practice Direction

Part II: s. 11(b) – Appearances on Indictments

Part III: Factums

Part IV: Pre-trial Conferences

Part V: Bail Variations pursuant to s. 519.1 of the Code

Part VI: Applications under s. 11(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

Part VIII: Media Notification After Jury Sequestered

PART IX: Filing

PART X: Remote Proceedings

PART XI: Designations

FAMILY PROCEEDINGS

Counsel and parties in family proceedings are advised to refer to the Consolidated Notice to the Profession, Parties, Public and the Media and in particular Part III of the Notice which outlines Additional Procedures Governing Family Matters.

Case Conferences

Case Conference Briefs must not exceed 8 pages, plus permissible attachments (as defined below) and additional documents that are required by the Family Law Rules. This 8-page limit includes the brief itself (Form 17A) and any additional pages of facts and/or arguments that are attached to the brief as an appendix or schedule.

All documents filed must use of font of not less than 12 point and double spacing.

If disclosure is not resolved prior to the Case Conference, any party seeking disclosure must include in their materials a list of the outstanding disclosure (not included in the 8-page limit).

Permissible attachments must include only relevant excerpts from the following documents, (not included in the 8-page restriction):

Parenting assessments (pursuant to Section 30 of the Children’s Law Reform Act), Office of the Children’s Lawyer reports and Voice of the Child Reports;
Documents that establish a child’s educational needs (for example, report cards or Individual Education Plans);
Income or business valuations, pension valuations or real estate appraisals (where the value of property is in dispute);
Proof of income for the relevant period(s) including pay stubs, confirmation of benefits received and/or Statement of Business or Professional Activities from a party’s Income Tax Return; and,
Domestic contracts, including separation agreements, marriage contracts or cohabitation agreements that are relevant to the issues in dispute.
Support calculations; and,
Terms of recognizance, police report or reports from the Children’s Aid Society, where applicable

Settlement Conference

Settlement Conference Briefs must not to exceed 12 pages, plus permissible attachments (as defined in the Case Conference section above) and additional documents required by the Family Law Rules. This 12-page limit includes the brief itself (Form 17C) and any additional pages of facts and/or arguments that are attached to the brief as an appendix or schedule.

Parties must serve, file and uploaded a Trial Scheduling Endorsement Form with their Settlement Conference briefs.

If a Trial Scheduling Conference is scheduled at the Settlement Conference and an order is made by the judge that UPDATED TSEF are to be completed, these shall be served, filed and uploaded to Case Center no later than three (3) days prior to the event.

Short Motions (1 hour or less)

Parties must comply with the filing requirements in the Family Law Rules.

Except for motions arising from the wrongful removal or retention of a child, each party is restricted to one primary affidavit in support of their position on the motion and cross-motion (if applicable) which shall not exceed 12 pages of narrative. This limit does not include third party and reply affidavits, where required, which shall not exceed 5 pages each, or affidavits relating to a party’s financial statement in accordance with Rule 13(12)(b).

In addition, exhibits to each party’s affidavit shall be limited to only the necessary and relevant evidence and are generally expected not to exceed 10 pages.

Leave is required to file documents beyond these restrictions which will only be granted in exceptional circumstances.

All documents filed must use of font of not less than 12 point and double spacing.

Parties are required to submit draft orders with their motion materials.

Long Motions (over 1 hour)

A factum (or Summary of Argument) is required on all long motions except as noted otherwise. Except with leave of the court, factums are limited to 20 pages, at least 12-point font and double spaced.

A Compendium containing excerpted portions of the cases and of the evidence to which the party intends to refer during the hearing must be uploaded to Case Center for all long motions. A party must file a Compendium and upload it with their factum. A joint Compendium may be filed with the respondent’s factum.

All court documents must comply with the maximum length requirements set out in this Practice Direction. Failure to do so may result in the document being rejected for filing and, therefore, prohibited from being uploaded to Case Center.

The authorities that are included on the court’s list of Often Cited Family Cases do not need to be provided to the court. Counsel and parties are advised to refer to Part I of the Consolidated Provincial Practice Direction for further direction.

Family Confirmations

A Confirmation (Form 14C & 17F) must be filed:

By all parties no later than 2 pm, three (3) days before the hearing or conference.

The parties or their counsel should consult with each other prior to filing their Confirmations unless the parties are self-represented and prohibited from communicating by court order.

Where a Confirmation has not been filed by either party, the motion may not proceed.

The Confirmation must list only the specific issues that are to be decided at the event. It should also indicate which materials the judge should review with clear reference to the specific volume, tab and page numbers. Referring to “all” prior affidavits or documents is not appropriate and will be ignored. Referring to documents that the party does not intend to refer to in submissions is discouraged and may be a factor in determining costs.

For long motions, the confirmation should list the all the materials of all parties related to the motion and any cross motions in chronological order.

The Confirmation must also include an appropriate time estimate for submissions on all issues in the motion including time required by the other party. If a party chooses not to make submission on an issue, the court is entitled to consider that the party has abandoned that specific issue.

Confirmations are to be sent to the respective Trial Coordinator’s Offices as follows:

Parties are to note in the subject line – CONFIRMATION – Court file Name and Number.

Hamilton (Family) – Hamilton.Family.Superior.Court@ontario.ca

Kitchener /Waterloo – Kitchener.Superior.Court@ontario.ca

St. Catharines- St.Catharines.Superior.Court@ontario.ca

Brantford – BrantfS@ontario.ca

CIVIL PROCEEDINGS

Short Motions (1 hour or less)

Parties are filing unnecessary materials on motions. Accordingly, the following limitations are imposed on motion material:

Each party is restricted to one primary affidavit in support of their position on the motion which shall not exceed 12 pages of narrative. This limit does not include third party and reply affidavits, where required, which shall not exceed 5 pages each. In addition, exhibits to each party’s affidavit shall be limited to only the necessary and relevant evidence.

Long Motions and Applications

A factum is required on all long motions and applications except as noted otherwise. Except with leave of the court, factums are limited to 20 pages, at least 12-point font and double spaced.

A Compendium containing excerpted portions of the court filed documents and evidence that are essential to the hearing of the motion shall be filed and uploaded by each party for all long motions. A joint Compendium may be filed with the respondent’s factum.

All court documents, including factums and compendiums, must comply with R. 4 of the Rules of Civil Procedure with respect to formatting, including hyperlinks and bookmarks. and must comply with the maximum length requirements set out in this Notice. Failure to do so may result in the document being rejected for filing and, therefore, prohibited from being uploaded to Case Center.

Any failure to file a factum in accordance with these timelines will be addressed by the judge hearing the long motion, which may result in an adjournment or cost consequences.

The authorities that are included on the court’s list of Often-Cited Civil Cases do not need to be provided to the court. Counsel and parties are advised to refer to Part I of the Consolidated Provincial Practice Direction for further direction.

Civil Pre-Trials

Briefs

Pre-Trial conference briefs shall contain no more than 20 double spaced typed pages. Medical reports, contract, experts’ reports and other documents are not to be attached. Relevant excerpts from such documents should be included in the typed pre-trial brief. The documents should be brought to the pre-trial conference in case the presiding judge needs to review one or more of them. The first page or two of the pre-trial briefs should contain an “executive summary” of the case so that the presiding judge can quickly get a “snapshot” of the facts and issues.

Pre-Trial Conference Report Forms

To make pre-trial conferences productive, counsel and any self-represented party are required, at least seven days in advance of the pre-trial conference, to consult and fill out a Rule 50.08 Pre-Trial Conference Report form (or a Rule 76 Report to the Trial Judge form) with the required information respecting witnesses and any other portions of the Report on which the parties agree. For example, that summaries of the proposed evidence of witnesses or opening statements will be exchanged.

After the parties have consulted, and the partially completed the Report, it must be served, filed AND uploaded to Case Center by the plaintiff.

Pre-trial dates will, where possible, be scheduled within 120 days of the trial date or the commencement of the sittings.

Counsel and parties must comply with R. 50 including that parties with authority to settle must attend pre-trial hearings.

The fact that the parties agree on certain matters does not bind the pre-trial conference judge to accept the agreement with respect to the process to be followed or the completion of the Report.

The parties must comply with the provisions of R. 53.03 with respect to expert reports and deliver the Certificate referred to in R. 50.03. Failure to deliver all expert reports at least 90 days prior to the pre-trial will likely attract a cost sanction and other directions and terms may be imposed by the pre-trial judge including an order prohibiting expert testimony by any expert whose report was not served in compliance with this Rule.

Civil Confirmations

A Confirmation (Form 37B or 38B) must be filed:

By the moving party by 2 pm, five days before the hearing
The responding party by 10:00 am three (3) days before the hearing
The parties may file a Confirmation jointly on or before 2pm, five days before the hearing.

The parties or their counsel should consult with each other prior to filing their Confirmations unless the parties are self-represented and prohibited from communicating by court order.

Where a Confirmation has not been filed by either party, the motion may not proceed.

The Confirmation must only list the specific issues that are to be decided on the motion. They should also indicate which materials the judge should review with clear reference to the specific volume, tab and page numbers. Referring to documents that the party does not intend to refer to in submissions is discouraged and may be a factor in determining costs.

Confirmations are required for all motions: long or short, even if they are set for hearing on a specific date. The presiding judge uses the confirmation for preparation: to determine what to read and what issue are in dispute.

Confirmations are to be sent to the respective Trial Coordinator’s Offices as follows:

Parties are to note in the subject line – CONFIRMATION – Court file Name and Number.

Hamilton (Civil & Criminal) – Hamilton.Superior.Court@ontario.ca

Kitchener /Waterloo – Kitchener.Superior.Court@ontario.ca

St. Catharines- St.Catharines.Superior.Court@ontario.ca

Brantford – BrantfS@ontario.ca

PRESENT SCHEDULING PROTOCOLS

The prior scheduling protocols of the court changed as a result of COVID-19. It is anticipated that the scheduling protocols will change again in the future to accommodate the electronic filings of materials and virtual appearances. The present protocols will continue until further notice.

For any short or long motion, the Notice of Motion or Application record shall indicate any Wednesday date for the hearing date as a HOLD DATE.

Confirmations are required 5 days before in Civil matters and 3 days before in Family matters.

If no responding material is filed prior to the original motion date then the moving party must file a confirmation to that effect, and the motion will proceed as an unopposed basket motion, and the original motion hearing date will be vacated.

For short motions or applications which can be argued in less than 60 minutes, the trial coordinator will provide a date for the hearing and the original Wednesday hold date may then be vacated.

Confirmations are to be sent by email to the Trial Coordinators at:

Hamilton (Civil & Criminal) – Hamilton.Superior.Court@ontario.ca

Hamilton (Family) – Hamilton.Family.Superior.Court@ontario.ca

Kitchener /Waterloo – Kitchener.Superior.Court@ontario.ca

St. Catharines- St.Catharines.Superior.Court@ontario.ca

Brantford – BrantfS@ontario.ca

Scheduling of Long Motions or Applications

A “long” motion or application is one which is expected to require more than one hour for argument, including reply argument (but excluding the time required by the judge to consider the matter and render a decision).

These motions or applications are generally set to be argued during a specified week rather than a specific date.

There are generally two ways that long motions may be scheduled: (1) by a judge determining the motion is a long motion and not a short motion or (2) by the parties scheduling it as a long motion at the outset.

For motions determined by the party at the outset to be long, once all material is filed, a confirmation is to be sent advising of the specific “Ready List” week to be called.

If parties are not able to agree to a specific week or issues arise, the parties may contact the Trial Coordinator to obtain a date for a brief appearance before a judge. Parties will be required a maximum one-page outline of the issues in dispute.

For all long motions, motion confirmations are required as follows:

Prior to the week assigned, a further confirmation is required no later than Thursday prior to the Monday. The confirmation shall include issues to be decided, list of materials relied upon and availability of counsel during the week.

Confirmations are to be sent by email to the Trial Coordinators at:

Hamilton (Civil & Criminal) – Hamilton.Superior.Court@ontario.ca

Hamilton (Family) – Hamilton.Family.Superior.Court@ontario.ca

Kitchener /Waterloo – Kitchener.Superior.Court@ontario.ca

St. Catharines- St.Catharines.Superior.Court@ontario.ca

Brantford – BrantfS@ontario.ca