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  1. Civil Case Management Rules
  2. Forms
  3. Flow Chart

CIVIL CASE MANAGEMENT RULES

RULE 1: APPLICATION AND INTERPRETATION OF RULES

Civil Case Management Rules

Scope

1.01 (1) These rules apply to all actions and applications commenced after a date to be specified by Order in Council for each County and Judicial District.

Exception

(2) These rules do not apply to actions or applications to which the Family Case Management Rules apply, actions or applications which have been designated by a senior regional justice as exempt from these rules or actions pursuant to the Construction Lien Act.

Rules of Civil Procedure

(3) The Rules of Civil Procedure, including Simplified Procedure, also apply to actions or applications to which these rules apply, but these rules prevail in the event of conflict, except that in no event shall these rules be construed as authorizing examinations under oath prohibited by Rule 76.

(4) A time prescribed in these rules or the Rules of Civil Procedure may be extended only by order of the court.

Format of Documents

(5) The forms prescribed in these rules and notices, certificates and orders referred to in these rules may be single spaced, may bear the short title of the action and need not have a backsheet.

Purpose

1.02 The purpose of these rules is to establish a case management system that reduces unnecessary cost and delay in civil litigation, facilitates early and fair settlements and brings actions expeditiously to a just determination while allowing sufficient time for the conduct of the action.

Definitions

1.03 (1) In these rules,

"case management judge" means the judge or a member of a team of judges assigned to manage an action or application;
"case management master" means a person appointed by the Chief Justice of the Ontario Court (General Division) to assist the case management judges in the management of actions and applications pursuant to these rules;
"track" means the system of case management provided for an action by rule 6.00;
"close of pleadings" has the meaning specified by the Rules of Civil Procedure in the case of an action, and in the case of an application means a date ten days after the first affidavit has been filed by a respondent in the application;
"timetable" means an order of a case management judge or case management master specifying a schedule for the completion of any step required to advance the proceeding, including delivery of affidavits of documents, examinations under oath where available, or motions.

(2) Third and subsequent party actions shall be issued in the same proceeding as the main action, and pleadings in the main action and third and subsequent party action are closed when a reply has been delivered to the defence to the last subsequent party claim, or the time for delivery of such a reply has expired.

Case Management Master

1.04 (1) A case management master has the same powers and duties as a case management judge with respect to a proceeding, except the power to hear a motion that is not within the jurisdiction of a master under subrule 37.02(2), (jurisdiction of a master) of the Rules of Civil Procedure, or except where these rules otherwise provide.

(2) Case Management Masters may manage, under the direction of the case management judges, all proceedings assigned to case management.

RULE 2: DISMISSALS BY REGISTRAR

2.00 Any application or action which has not been resolved by a final order or judgment, and in which no Notice of Service of Defence or affidavit on behalf of a respondent has been filed shall be dismissed by the registrar as abandoned 180 days after the issue of the originating process.

2.01 The form of an originating process shall be amended to include a warning in the terms of paragraph 2.00.

RULE 3: GENERAL PROCEDURE FOR ALL TRACKS

Commencement of Action/Filing of Defence or Motion

Notice of Commencement of Proceedings

3.01 (1) A plaintiff or applicant shall complete and attach a Notice of Commencement of Proceedings (Form 1) to every originating process, and the Notice of Commencement of Proceedings shall be served with the originating process.

(2) Where counsel issues an originating process he or she shall provide his or her client with a copy of same.

3.02 An originating process shall be deemed to have been issued when a Notice of Commencement of Proceedings is filed, and the originating process shall not be filed until some further step is taken in the proceeding other than the filing of a Notice of Discontinuance, or it is required for a hearing.

3.03 (1) On filing the Notice of Commencement of Proceedings, the plaintiff or applicant shall choose the fast track or standard track for the action or application.

Choice of Track

(2) In choosing a track, the plaintiff or applicant shall have regard to all relevant considerations, including,

  1. the complexity of the issues of fact or law;
  2. the likely expense to the parties;
  3. the importance to the public of the issues of fact or law;
  4. the number of parties or prospective parties;
  5. the amount of intervention by the case management judge that the action is likely to require; and
  6. the time required for proper discovery if applicable and preparation for trial.

Track Chosen by Plaintiff or Applicant

(3) The action or application shall proceed on the track chosen by the plaintiff or applicant unless the court orders otherwise.

Change of Track

3.04 (1) A case management judge or case management master may order that an action or application be transferred from one track to the other.

(2) A party who seeks an order under subrule (1) shall move for the order before the close of pleadings.

(3) On a motion under subrule (2) a case management judge or case management master shall have regard to the matters set out in subrule 3.03(2).

Application of Case Management

4.00 (1) On the filing of a Notice of Service of Defence in an action, an affidavit by a respondent in an application, or of any motion by a party adverse in interest to the plaintiff or applicant, rules 4.00 to 7.00 shall become applicable to such action or application.

(2) A defendant who serves a Statement of Defence shall not file the statement of defence with proof of service unless the document becomes relevant to some issue to be determined by a court, but shall file a Notice of Service of Defence (Form 2).

(3) Filing a Notice of Service of Defence shall constitute delivery of a statement of defence.

(4) Proceedings to which Rule 76 applies shall be deemed to be on the fast track. The pretrial referred to in Rule 76.07 and the Rules of Civil Procedure shall constitute a settlement conference under these rules.

(5) All fast track cases will be subject to Rule 76 so far as production of documents.

FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH TIME REQUIREMENT

Powers of Case Management Judge or Case Management Master

4.01 (1) Where a party fails to comply with a time requirement established by the Rules of Civil Procedure or these rules, a case management judge or case management master may,

  1. convene a case conference;
  2. create or amend a timetable and order the party to comply with the timetable; or
  3. order the party or the party's solicitor to pay costs, including solicitor and client costs fixed and payable forthwith.

Powers of Case Management Judge

(2) Where a party fails to comply with a timetable, a case management judge may,

  1. strike out any document filed by the party;
  2. dismiss the party's action or strike out the party's defence; or
  3. make any other order that is just.

RULE 5: CASE MANAGEMENT MOTIONS, AND CASE CONFERENCES

Case Management Judge

Duties

5.01 (1) A case management judge shall deal with all matters that arise in the action before the trial, including all motions, case conferences and settlement conferences, except where these rules provide otherwise.

Informal Motion Procedure

(2) A motion may be made, depending on the practical requirements of the situation,

  1. with or without supporting material or a motion record;
  2. by attendance, conference call, telephone call or telephone transmission, or in writing.

Motion without Material

(3) Where a motion is made without supporting material or a motion record,

  1. a case management motion form (Form 3) signed by the moving party's solicitor shall be submitted to the court before the motion is heard;
  2. a case management motion form signed by the responding party's solicitor may be submitted to the court before the motion is heard;
  3. a case management judge, case management master or registrar shall record the disposition of the motion on the form;
  4. no formal order need be prepared, signed or entered unless a case management judge or case management master directs otherwise.

Confirmation - Opposed Oral Motion

(4) On an opposed motion that is to be argued orally, the moving party's solicitor shall confirm to the registrar by facsimile transmission, by 2 p.m. two days before the hearing date, that the motion is to proceed as scheduled, failing which the motion shall not proceed on that date.

Powers on On Initiative

(5) A case management judge or case management master may, on his or her own initiative, require a hearing, case conference or conference call to deal with any matter arising in connection with case management, including a failure to comply with these rules or the Rules of Civil Procedure.

Powers Generally

(6) Subject to Rule 1.05, a case management judge or case management master may,

  1. extend or abridge a time prescribed by an order, these rules or the Rules of Civil Procedure;
  2. transfer an action from one track to the other;
  3. adjourn a case conference; and
  4. set aside an order made by the registrar under these rules.

(7) A case management judge may,

  1. direct a reference under Rule 54 of the Rules of Civil Procedure; and
  2. make orders, impose terms and give directions as necessary to carry out the purpose of these rules.

Costs on Motions

(8) The case management judge or case management master shall at the conclusion of each motion address the issue of costs and where appropriate fix the costs and order them payable forthwith.

Motions for Leave to Appeal

(9) A motion for leave to appeal from an order of a case management judge shall be made to another judge, and from an order of a case management master to a judge.

Motions Dealt With by Registrar

(10) The registrar shall make an order granting the relief sought on the following motions:

  1. A motion for an order on consent, where the consent of all parties is filed, the consent states that no party affected by the order is under disability, and the order is for,
    1. amendment of a pleading,
    2. addition, deletion or substitution of a party,
    3. change of or appointment of a solicitor of record,
    4. setting aside the noting of a party in default,
    5. setting aside a default judgment,
    6. discharge of a certificate of pending litigation,
    7. security for costs in a specified amount,
    8. re-attendance of a witness to answer questions on an examination,
    9. fulfilment of undertakings given on an examination, or
    10. dismissal of an action with or without costs.
  2. A motion for an unopposed order, where no responding material is filed and the notice of motion or the case management motion form states that no party affected by the order is under disability, and the order is for relief set out in subparagraphs i to x of paragraph 1.

CASE CONFERENCE

How Convened

5.02 (1) A case management judge or a case management master may convene a case conference at any time, on his or her own initiative or at a party's request.

Parties' Attendance

(2) A case management judge or a case management master may direct that the parties, or a representative of the parties responsible for making decisions regarding the proceeding and instructing the solicitor, attend the conference personally.

Matters to be Dealt With

(3) At the conference a case management judge or case management master may,

  1. identify the issues, and note those that are contested and those that are not contested;
  2. explore methods to resolve the contested issues;
  3. if possible, secure the parties' agreement on a specific schedule of events in the action; and
  4. review and, if necessary, amend the timetable for the action.

Counsel

(4) Counsel attending the conference shall have authority to deal with the matters referred to in subrule (3) and shall be fully acquainted with the facts and legal issues.

Powers of Judge

(5) At the conference, a case management judge may, where appropriate,

  1. make a procedural order;
  2. make an order for interlocutory relief;
  3. on consent of the parties, refer any issue for alternative dispute resolution;
  4. convene a settlement conference;
  5. convene a hearing;
  6. give directions; and
  7. make an order requiring a party to obtain the report of an expert, and set the terms for payment and instruction of the expert.

Powers of Case Management Master

(6) At the conference, a case management master may, where appropriate,

  1. make such orders and give such directions as are permitted by these rules to be made or given by a case management master;
  2. on consent of the parties, refer any issue for alternative dispute resolution;
  3. convene a settlement conference;
  4. convene a hearing.

RULE 6: SETTLEMENT CONFERENCES

Settlement Conference

6.00 (1) The registrar shall on at least 45 days notice to the parties, schedule a settlement conference to take place not later than 90 days after the close of pleadings in the case of a proceeding on the fast track, and in the case of a proceeding on the standard track, not later than 240 days after the first defence is filed in an action, or the first responding affidavit in an application.

(2) All discoveries, production of documents and motions arising out of discoveries, if any, shall be completed before the settlement conference date.

Parties' Attendance At Settlement Conference

(3) A case management judge or case management master may direct the parties, or a representative of the parties responsible for making decisions in the proceeding and instructing the solicitor, to attend all or part of a settlement conference personally with their counsel.

Settlement Conference Brief

(4) Except in actions to which the Simplified Rules apply, the plaintiff or applicant shall deliver not later than ten days before the settlement conference a settlement conference brief, containing all material the plaintiff or applicant considers necessary for the settlement conference, and shall certify that rule 6.00(2) has been complied with.

Other Parties To Deliver Briefs

(5) Except in actions to which the Simplified Rules apply, every other party shall deliver a settlement conference brief containing any other material the party considers necessary for the settlement conference not later than five days before the conference.

(6) A settlement conference brief shall contain:

  1. i. a concise summary of the facts;
    ii. where necessary issues and law to be relied upon by each party;
  2. a concise summary of the agreed upon facts and admissions;
  3. a list of witnesses and a summary of each witness's evidence;
  4. the relevant portions only of transcripts, experts' reports and other evidence that may be adduced at trial.

Trial Date

(7) At the settlement conference, a case management judge or case management master shall assign a trial or hearing date, or refer the parties to a civil team leader judge for the assignment of a trial or hearing date.

Trial Record

(8) A trial or application record shall be served and filed in accordance with rule 48.02 or rule 38.09(1) of the Rules of Civil Procedure no later than seven days before the trial or hearing date.

RULE 7: TRIAL MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE

7.01 A trial management conference may be held on or following the setting of a trial date, at the request of one of the parties, or on the initiative of a judge or case management master.

7.02 A trial management form (Form 6) shall be submitted by the plaintiff or applicant, and at the option of a defendant or respondent, no later than 14 days before the trial, or four days before the trial management conference, whichever is earlier.

7.03 At the trial management conference, the case management master or judge may,

  1. canvass with the parties the names of the witnesses intended to be called, and the substance of their testimony;
  2. explore whether admissions can be made which will facilitate proof of non-contentious matters;
  3. explore alternate methods of presentation of evidence, such as the filing of affidavits or reports;
  4. explore with counsel expeditious means for the presentation of documentary evidence;
  5. give directions regarding the order of calling of witnesses;
  6. give directions which will facilitate the orderly unfolding of the evidence.

RULE 8: ADVISORY COMMITTEE

The Chief Justice of the Ontario Court of Justice (General Division) shall appoint an advisory committee composed of such members of the Bench, Bar, Ministry and the Public as are necessary to monitor these rules and, where appropriate, to make recommendations for improvement.

RULE 9: TRANSITIONAL PROCEEDINGS

(1) Where a proceeding has been commenced before the date of coming into force of these rules, and where no notice of service of defence or affidavit in response has been filed as of that date, the 180 day period described in Rule 2.00 shall begin to run on the date these rules come into effect in the geographic area where the proceeding was commenced.

(2) Where a proceeding has been commenced before the date of coming into force of these rules and a statement of defence or affidavit in response has been filed before that date, the proceeding shall be dismissed by the registrar unless within 365 days from the coming into force of these rules the parties have fixed a date for a settlement conference.

RULE 10: MANDATORY MEDIATION

Where mandatory mediation rules have been proclaimed in force, the following apply:

10.01 The registrar shall, upon the filing of the first notice of defence or other document in response to the proceeding, issue a notice to the parties for an appointment with an approved mediator ("the mediation appointment") and the plaintiff or applicant shall notify the other parties of the mediation appointment.

10.02 The mediation appointment shall be within 60 days from the filing of the first defence or responding document.

10.03 The parties and their counsel shall attend for the mediation appointment unless they file with the registrar, no later than 10 days before the mediation appointment, either:

  1. the consent in Form 4 of all parties indicating:
    1. that the parties have consented to an alternative approved mediator or leave has been granted for an alternative form of dispute resolution such as neutral evaluation, mini-trial or arbitration or leave has been granted for mediation by a person not on the roster;
    2. that the mediation or alternate form of dispute resolution will be completed on or before the date scheduled for the mediation appointment; or
  2. an order of a judge or case management master dispensing with the mediation appointment.

10.04 If the parties and their counsel do not comply with the above rules, the party or parties in default shall forthwith pay a cancellation fee fixed by regulation to the Court, failing which the claim will be dismissed by the registrar (if the plaintiff or applicant defaults), or the defence or respondent documentation will be struck by the registrar (if the defendant or respondent defaults).

10.05 At the conclusion of the mediation appointment or such other appointment as is consented to under paragraph 10.03 above, the court approved mediator or the alternative dispute resolution service specified in Form 4 shall certify that the mediation or alternative dispute resolution has taken place and shall file Form 5 with the court. The form shall specify if the matter is settled.

10.06 These rules run concurrently with the balance of the case management rules and will not, in the absence of an order of a judge or case management master, serve to expand the time limits provided therein.

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