HUMAN RIGHTS TRIBUNAL OF ONTARIO

B E T W E E N:

Andrea Anderson

Applicant

-and-

Lerners LLP

Respondent

Reconsideration DECISION

Adjudicator: Ken Bhattacharjee

Date: November 21, 2011

Citation: 2011 HRTO 2101

Indexed as: Anderson v. Lerners LLP

WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS

Andrea Anderson, Applicant ) Self-represented

[1] On September 7, 2011, the Tribunal issued a Decision, [2011 HRTO 1654](https://www.minicounsel.ca/hrto/2011/1654), which dismissed the Application following a summary hearing on the basis that it was an abuse of process and had no reasonable prospect of success.

[2] On the same day, the applicant filed a Request for Reconsideration of the Tribunal’s Decision. She subsequently filed a Request for an Order During Proceedings to amend her Request for Reconsideration, and numerous e-mails and additional documents to support her Request for Reconsideration. I have reviewed and considered all these filings.

[3] Section 45.7(1) of the Human Rights Code, R.S.O. 1990, c. H.19, as amended, provides that any party to a proceeding before the Tribunal may request that the Tribunal reconsider a final decision in accordance with the Tribunal rules.

[4] Rule 26.5 of the Tribunal’s Rules of Procedure states that reconsideration will not be granted unless the Tribunal is satisfied that:

a) there are new facts or evidence that could potentially be determinative of the case and that could not reasonably have been obtained earlier; or

b) the party seeking reconsideration was entitled to but, through no fault of its own, did not receive notice of the proceeding or a hearing; or

c) the decision or order which is the subject of the reconsideration request is in conflict with established jurisprudence or Tribunal procedure and the proposed reconsideration involves a matter of general or public importance; or

d) other factors exist that, in the opinion of the Tribunal, outweigh the public interest in the finality of Tribunal decisions.

[5] The Tribunal has also issued a Practice Direction on Reconsideration to provide guidance to the community on the nature of the reconsideration process. The Practice Direction states, in part:

Decisions of the Tribunal are generally considered final and are not subject to appeal. However, parties may request that the Tribunal reconsider a final decision it has made. Reconsideration is a discretionary remedy; there is no right to have a decision reconsidered by the Tribunal. Generally, the Tribunal will only reconsider a decision where it finds that there are compelling and extraordinary circumstances for doing so and where these circumstances outweigh the public interest in finality of orders and decisions.

Reconsideration is not an appeal.

[6] In her Request for Reconsideration, the applicant indicated that the Tribunal’s Decision should be reconsidered in accordance with Rule 26.5 a), c) and d). However, in her submissions in support of her Request, the applicant did not explain how her Request falls within the criteria set out in Rule 26.5 a), c) and d). Instead, she disputed the correctness of the Tribunal’s Decision, repeated the same arguments that she made at the summary hearing, and made new arguments that she could have, but did not, make at the summary hearing.

[7] Reconsideration is not available simply because a party disagrees with the Tribunal’s Decision, and it is not an opportunity for a party to reargue the case.

[8] The Request for Reconsideration is dismissed.

Dated at Toronto, this 21^st^ day of November, 2011.

“signed by”

Ken Bhattacharjee

Vice-chair