HUMAN RIGHTS TRIBUNAL OF ONTARIO
B E T W E E N:
Ali Aslani
Applicant
-and-
Discount Car and Truck Rentals Ltd.
Respondent
INTERIM DECISION
Adjudicator: Eric Whist
Indexed as: Aslani v. Discount Car and Truck Rental Ltd.
WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS
Ali Aslani, Applicant
Self-represented
Discount Car and Truck Rentals Ltd., Respondent
Susan Ball, Representative
1This Interim Decision deals with a request from the applicant for an adjournment of a hearing scheduled for August 3, 2012.
BACKGROUND
2In December 2011 the applicant emailed the Tribunal to state that he would be out of the country for six to nine months and asked that the Tribunal to schedule a hearing in August 2012, further stating that if he could not attend he would let the Tribunal know. In January 2012 the applicant emailed the Tribunal again to state that he would be away from Canada for five months or more and asking that the hearing be scheduled for some time after July 2012. On January 19, 2012 the Tribunal issued a Notice of Confirmation of Hearing indicating that a hearing would be held on August 3, 2012.
3The Notice of Confirmation of Hearing states that any request for an adjournment will be dealt with in accordance with the HRTO’s Practice Direction on Scheduling of Hearings and Mediations and that a request for rescheduling must be done within 14 days of the date of the Notice. The Notice of Confirmation of Hearing was sent to the applicant by mail to a new address the applicant provided on January 18, 2012. The Notice was not returned. It is further noted that according to a Statement of Delivery form (Form 23) filed by the respondent the respondent provided a package of documents to the applicant by email on February 7, 2012 that included the Tribunal’s Notice of Confirmation of Hearing.
4The Notice of Confirmation of Hearing indicates the steps the parties had to take by February 9, 2012 and by June 19, 2012 to comply with Rules 16 and 17 of the Tribunal’s Rules of Procedure for disclosing and filing documents and information about intended witnesses. On June 20, 2012 the Tribunal issued a Case Assessment Direction to alert the applicant that he had failed to comply with his obligations under Rules 16 and 17 and that the applicant had to file these materials within 7 days or his Application may be dismissed as abandoned.
5On June 22, 2012 the applicant emailed the Tribunal to request an adjournment of the hearing on the basis that he is has been out of the country for personal reasons and is unable to return to Canada for the hearing because he has to care for his elderly mother. The applicant provides no further information about his mother’s health or why he, in particular, needs to care for her.
6On June 25, 2012 the respondent emailed the Tribunal to indicate that the respondent opposed the applicant’s request. The respondent submits that the applicant has not participated in the Tribunal hearing process to date having failed to meet any of the requirements set out in Rules 16 and 17 of the Tribunal’s Rules of Procedure. The respondent states that it would like to proceed in order to resolve this matter as quickly as possible.
DECISION
7In Vallentyne v. Royal Canadian Legion, 2009 HRTO 660 at para. 4, the Tribunal held:
The Tribunal is committed to the fair, just and expeditious resolution of proceedings before it. It expects to receive thousands of applications each year. The Tribunal has a responsibility to ensure that public resources are used effectively to meet the demands of all parties before the Tribunal. Therefore, when an adjournment request is made, it is not only the interests of the parties to the particular proceeding must consider, but the fact that Tribunal time reserved for the resolution of those parties’ dispute will no longer be used. For that reason, among others, the Tribunal’s Information Bulletin on Scheduling of Hearings and Mediations, Rescheduling Requests and Requests for Adjournments indicates that even adjournment requests made on consent of the parties more than five days [now 14 days] after the hearing is scheduled may be denied. The Tribunal has balanced the interests of parties in having hearings scheduled according to their and counsel’s availability with these broader interests by requiring that a party advise within five days [now 14 days] that they are unavailable, and providing that requests for adjournment will not otherwise be granted, absent exceptional circumstances.
8The scheduling of the hearing was made after the applicant informed the Tribunal on two occasions that he would be available in August 2012. The request for an adjournment is made well beyond the 14 days after the Notice of Confirmation of Hearing. The applicant has not provided a reason as to why he failed to request an adjournment within the time frame set out in the Notice of Hearing. Furthermore, the reason for the request for adjournment, namely that the applicant needs to care for an elderly parent and is out of the country lacks any particulars. I cannot find, based on the information before me, that there are exceptional circumstances that would justify an adjournment of the applicant’s hearing in accordance with the Tribunal’s policies and jurisprudence. The applicant’s request is denied.
9I am prepared, under the circumstances, to consider a further request for an adjournment, should the applicant provide particulars as to why he is needed to care for his mother and evidence that his mother’s health requires his care. If the applicant wishes to make a further postponement request he has seven days from the date of this interim decision to do so and the respondent will have a further four days to respond.
10In the absence of any further request with evidence by the applicant, I direct the applicant to confirm by no later than July 18, 2012 that he will attend the hearing scheduled for August 3, 2012 and to comply with his pre-hearing obligations to meet the requirements of Rule 16 and Rule 17 by July 18, 2012 as well. If the Tribunal does not receive this confirmation and material by July 18, 2012 the Application may be dismissed as abandoned.
Dated at Toronto, this 5th day of July, 2012.
”signed by”
Eric Whist
Vice-chair