HUMAN RIGHTS TRIBUNAL OF ONTARIO
B E T W E E N:
Hina Malik
Applicant
-and-
440 Rathburn (Etobicoke) Ltd., Judy Czezledi, and Pat Murray
Respondents
INTERIM decision
Adjudicator: Douglas Sanderson
Indexed as: Malik v. 440 Rathburn (Etobicoke)
wRITTEN SUBMISSIONS
Hina Malik, Applicant ) Michelle Mulgrave, Counsel
440 Rathburn (Etobicoke) Ltd., )
Judy Czezlediand Pat Murray, ) Marc A. Lean, Counsel
Respondents )
1This Interim Decision addresses a Request by the respondents made on November 2, 2011 to adjourn the hearing scheduled for December 5 and 6, 2011. The applicant responded to this Request on November 10, 2011 and consents to the adjournment.
2Respondents’ counsel explained that the lawyer who had carriage of the respondents’ case recently left their office. The other lawyers in their office are unavailable on the scheduled hearing dates and it is unknown when a suitable replacement will be hired.
3The Tribunal’s Practice Direction on Scheduling of Hearings and Mediations, Rescheduling Requests and Requests for Adjournments provides that requests to reschedule must be made within 14 days of receiving the Confirmation of Hearing and that outside that time adjournments will be granted only in extraordinary circumstances. Accordingly, the Tribunal grants adjournment sparingly and the consent of the other party is no guarantee that an adjournment will be granted.
4However, in these circumstances I am satisfied that the Request for a brief adjournment is justified. The firm representing the respondents cannot appear on the scheduled hearing dates and it would be difficult for the respondents to retain new counsel in the time remaining prior to the hearing. The hearing scheduled for December 5 and 6, 2011 is adjourned. The parties are directed to provide their available dates for a hearing that are within 12 weeks of the originally scheduled hearing dates to the Registrar within 10 days of the date of this Interim Decision. The Tribunal shall thereafter send the parties a notice confirming the re-scheduled dates and setting out revised deadlines for pre-hearing disclosure pursuant to the Tribunal’s Rules of Procedure.
Dated at Toronto, this 14th day of November, 2011.
”signed by”______________
Douglas Sanderson
Vice-chair