Civil justice reforms in Ontario

New civil justice reforms in Ontario are designed to make it less expensive to access justice and easier to use the courts to quickly resolve disputes, according to the Ministry of the Attorney General.

A regulation filed in late 2008 amended 25 civil court rules. The amendments include:

• The monetary limit of the Small Claims Court will increase to $25,000 from $10,000 effective Jan. 1, 2010.

• Simplified Procedure limits have been raised to $100,000 from $50,000.

• Up two hours of oral discovery is now allowed for Simplified Procedure cases.

• In a summary judgment motion, the judge hearing the motion has the discretion to impose costs where appropriate. Previously, if the party who brought the summary judgment motion lost the motion, they were required to pay the other party costs for responding, creating a disincentive to bring a case forward.

• Mini trials, including oral evidence, will now be allowed for summary judgment motion, saving time and expense of a full trial if possible.

• If a summary judgment matter goes to trial, the court has authority to create directions on matters including time-line, examinations and a discovery plan, ensuring a matter proceeds to trial in a timely and efficient manner.

• In a civil litigation case, pre-trial Examination for Discovery will be limited to seven hours per party unless the parties or the court determine more time is required.

• Expert witnesses are required to certify in writing their duty to be fair, objective and non-partisan.

• Expert reports must be served earlier and contain certain specific details.

• Timelines for mandatory mediation sessions will be extended.

• Pre-trial conferences, in which all parties and their lawyers are present, are now mandatory to encourage settlement and help identify or narrow issues for trial.

• Detailed conference briefs must be filed by both parties.

• Earlier deadlines will be implemented for serving and filing motions and application materials to allow parties more time to prepare.