PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT SHORT SIGHTED IN ITS STAFFING SHORTAGES AND FAILURE TO PAY AS YOU GO

Date: 06 Mar, 2014| Author: Fred Streiman

As any individual who has had the misfortune of attempting to file any document with the courts in Brampton or the surrounding areas, you will have learned the moto, bring a book.

The registrar or clerks office of the Region of Peel courthouse are chronically understaffed and overworked. A speed bump system of lengthy lines, which features limited number of filings, have all been incorporated in an attempt to throttle the inflow of documents in an attempt to gain a closer relationship between the available staff and the documents that are to be filed.

This blog is in no way meant to be a criticism of the court staff, but rather of the short sighted failure of the government, who are of course our representatives in their management of our tax dollars.There are substantial court fees to be garnered by the filing of the documents. As an example a motion for a divorce Order requires a fee of $280.00.

There should be careful consideration of the concept of determining what is the true cost of the filing, managing and retrieval of such documents and setting a fee that covers those costs. As such, this would be a revenue neutral process. The provincial government rakes in annually many millions of dollars in filing fees. While the government attributes these to their general fund, the government in this author’s humble view needs to look upon all of its functions where possible on a much more business like approach. There are already provisions for those individuals that cannot afford the appropriate fees to have them reduced or eliminated in particular circumstances. That is an admirable place for our tax dollars to be spent. However, it should be part of any litigant’s legal fees to pay an appropriate amount of money for the something as mundane as the filing of documents.

As a society, we underwrite the enormous costs of the judiciary and its many supporting arms. This is as it should be as the administration and rule of law is what separates Canada from oppressive autocratic and often dangerous governments. Layoffs make no sense as a cost cutting measure. The government is cutting off its nose to spite the economy’s face. A well run judicial system, which includes something as simple as the filing of a court document in less than an hour should be a feature of a modern society. The countless hours wasted while waiting in line, is a drag upon the economy, one which all of us pay for and benefits no one except perhaps the publishers of newspapers, books and crossword puzzles to occupy the waiter’s time.

Summary Judgment Motions in civil matters

Date: 06 Mar, 2014| Author: Fred Streiman

The government and the courts have been striving with limited success to reduce legal fees and to shorten the court process.

There has been available for a long time, the ability of a litigant* to bring a motion for summary judgment. It gives any party to a civil litigation action, the opportunity to ask the court before trial, to make a final decision on all or part of a law suit. As an example, a frivilous lawsuit brought with no foundation could be successfully defended at an early stage by bringing a motion for summary judgment seeking to have the Plaintiffs case dismissed. Alternatively, a Plaintiff who has a rock solid case, such as the collection of debt to which only a paper thin defence filed solely to delay matters has been filed. In those circumstances, a party can ask the court in the context of a motion for summary judgment, to grant a Judgment on a motion (almost always based solely upon written material and argument by lawyers), rather than at trial.

Recently, Rule 20 of the Rules of Civil Procedure was dramatically changed and the Ontario Court of Appeal recently released its decision in five cases heard simultaneously. All of these cases dealt with the court’s interpretation of the new Rule 20. The test that the court imposed as to whether or not a motion for summary judgment should be granted, turned upon the phrase, the full appreciation test, expanded by the court asking, can the full appreciation of the evidence and issues as required to make dispositive findings be achieved by way of summary judgment or can this full appreciation only be achieved by way of summary judgment or can this full appreciation only be achieved by way of a trial?

To clarify a not particularly clear direction, would the motion judge be satisfied that there is no need for this matter to proceed onto trial, that the judge feels that he or she has all of the facts and a solid understanding of a case that does not require the time and expense of a trial.While summary judgment motions have existed for a long time, the recent rule change and the Court of Appeal’s decision, generally referred to as Combined Air Mechanical Services Inc. v. Flesch, represents a fresh page in this evolving area of law.

Dale Streiman Law LLP has appeared numerous times, both prosecuting and defending motions for summary judgment