In the ordinary course, when a Notice of Application is issued by the Court, a first return date is provided automatically. However, on the Toronto Estates List, a practice evolved over recent months whereby counsel for the Applicant were required to write to the Court copying all parties to seek available dates for the matter to be scheduled.

This created problems in the not uncommon situation where Respondents, often self-represented at the outset, had a disincentive to cooperate with counsel for the Applicant. Moreover, the Applicant did not necessarily have the requisite contact information for the Respondents.

In response to this problem, Justice Dietrich has directed Toronto trial coordination staff to provide hearing dates for applications as follows:

1. Where all parties are represented, counsel for the Applicant will continue to be required to email the Trial Coordination Office seeking available dates and copying all counsel in the case.

2. Where one or more parties is self-represented, the trial coordinator will provide a first return date automatically. When seeking a date, the Applicant should flag for the trial coordinator that there is a self-represented party involved in the matter.

Please share this information with your colleagues who practise in Toronto.

Thanks for reading,

David Morgan Smith