Procedure for Opposed Short Motions in Toronto During COVID-19

In Mann v. Chack-Wai, 2020 ONSC 3428, Justice Myers considered the first opposed short motion in writing under the Toronto Region Notice to the Profession, dated May 13, 2020.  Justice Myers described the procedure for such motions.

Parties who seek to bring a short opposed motion or application must file a Short Motion or Application Request Form.

Short motions and applications will be heard in writing unless the triage or hearing judge orders otherwise. The form permits counsel and parties to provide reasons in support of requests for other hearing formats.

The form requires counsel to agree on a schedule for the exchange of materials in support of the proposed motion or application. Justice Myers noted that counsel are expected to cooperate on procedural matters to ensure that all parties receive a fair hearing in court.

If a schedule is not agreed to, the reason for this must be indicated in the form.  If the parties do not cooperate on scheduling and other procedural matters, Justice Myers indicated that costs are an issue.

A triage judge will review the application form. Counsel will be directed to file their materials two separate ways. First, materials must be filed with the civil intake branch of the court at a specific generic email address that is provided in a schedule to the triage judge’s directions.  Secondly, counsel and the parties are required to upload their materials to a folder that they create on Sync.com.

The filing with the civil intake branch is necessary to ensure that the court receives and stores all the proper material. The creation of the Sync.com folder ensures that the judge receives materials in a manner that is organized and user-friendly.

There is one Sync.com folder per motion or application.  The party responsible to prepare the folder will be named in the triage judge’s directions.  Each folder on Sync.com is to contain a separate sub-folder to house the materials of each party. Each document filed is to be named in accordance with naming rules that are set out in the triage judge’s directions.

The parties send the link to the Sync.com folder to the court with their motion confirmation form one week before the motion is scheduled to be read.

Justice Myers noted that it is important for counsel to cooperate in preparing easily accessible material at a time when the court is under severe personnel limitations due to the pandemic.