Marco Herrera v. North American Tool & Die and Dave Horvath, 2009 HRTO 1733

Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario

B E T W E E N:

Marco Herrera

Applicant

-and-

North American Tool & Die and Dave Horvath

Respondents

INTERIM DECISION

Adjudicator: Kaye Joachim

Date: October 21, 2009

Citation: 2009 HRTO 1733

Indexed as: Herrera v. North American Tool & Die

1A Case Resolution Conference (“hearing”) in this matter is scheduled for October 23, 2009. The hearing was originally scheduled for October 8, 2009 by Notice from the Tribunal, dated June 19, 2009. The hearing was rescheduled for October 23, 2009 with the express consent of the respondents. This date was confirmed by the Tribunal in its Notice of September 8, 2009.

2This Interim Decision addresses the respondents’ request for an adjournment.

3The respondents wrote to the Tribunal by letter dated September 30, 2009 (received October 6, 2009) seeking an adjournment on the basis that the corporate respondent’s general manager, who was involved in the events in question, would be out of the province.

4While the Tribunal’s Information Bulletin on Scheduling of Hearings and Mediations, Rescheduling Requests and Requests for Adjournments does not specifically apply to Transition Applications, nonetheless the principles set out in this Information Bulletin are equally applicable to Transition Applications.

5The Tribunal’s Information Bulletin provides that requests to reschedule must be made within five (5) days of receiving the Confirmation of Hearing and that thereafter, adjournments will be granted only in extraordinary circumstances. The Information Bulletin states the following regarding requests for adjournments:

Requests for adjournment, particularly last minute requests for adjournments are a significant impediment to fair and timely access to justice.

The Tribunal’s approach to scheduling and rescheduling mediations and hearings is designed to give the parties a fair opportunity to find suitable dates. Therefore, the Tribunal discourages adjournment requests, and will only grant adjournments in extraordinary circumstances such as illness of a party, witness or representative.

The Tribunal will not automatically grant adjournments even when all parties consent. Consent of all parties will be a factor which the Tribunal will consider where a request to adjourn a mediation or hearing is made, but it is not the only, or even the main factor.

Where a party seeks to adjourn a previously scheduled mediation or hearing, they must contact the Registrar as soon as the need arises. If practical, they should contact the other parties to seek their consent, and to discuss alternate dates for the rescheduling of the mediation or hearing. Alternate dates for mediation must fall within five (5) months of the date of the Notice of Application. Alternative dates for a hearing must fall within five (5) months of the date of the Confirmation of Hearing.

The party making the request should contact the Registrar and provide the reason for the request and the alternative agreed upon dates. Where the request is on short notice, the party must contact the Registrar by telephone or email.

The Tribunal typically will not adjourn a hearing date because the parties wish to “engage in settlement discussions” or are “close to a deal”. The Tribunal encourages mediation and settlements, and will assist the parties in this regard. Where parties believe they may be able to resolve a matter shortly before the scheduled hearing, they should advise the Registrar and the Tribunal will make a mediator and mediation room available. However, the Tribunal discourages the cancellation or adjournment of hearing dates so that the parties can explore settlement.

6The reasons for the Request do not constitute exceptional circumstances that would permit an adjournment. The respondents specifically agreed to the date in question and ought to have known that the general manager would be required to attend. Either they failed to make appropriate inquiries or the general manager made arrangements afterward to travel outside the province on the date of the hearing. The request for adjournment is denied.