Bryson Hitchcock v. Johnston Motor Sales Co. Limited, 2013 HRTO 1168

Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario

B E T W E E N:

Bryson Hitchcock

Applicant

-and-

Johnston Motor Sales Co. Limited, Mark Sebastian, and Blake Smith

Respondents

INTERIM DECISION

Adjudicator: Naomi Overend Date: July 4, 2013 Citation: 2013 HRTO 1168 Indexed as: Hitchcock v. Johnston Motor Sales Co. Limited

1The applicant filed an Application under section 34 of the Human Rights Code, R.S.O. 1990, c. H.19, as amended (the “Code”), on April 25, 2013.

2On May 6, 2013 the Tribunal issued a Notice of Application to the respondents. The respondents were advised that they must file a Response to the Application with the Tribunal by no later than June 10, 2013.

3The corporate respondent Johnston Motor Sales Co. Limited and the personal respondent Blake Smith subsequently filed Responses to the Application.

4As of the date of this Interim Decision the personal respondent Mark Sebastian has not filed a Response, nor has the Tribunal’s correspondence to him been returned.

5An application to the Tribunal starts a legal proceeding. A finding that a violation of the Code has occurred may lead to various orders, including monetary compensation, other forms of restitution to the applicant, and orders to take action to promote compliance with the Code. Failure to file a response or participate in a Tribunal proceeding may lead to orders against respondents without their participation. The personal respondent’s attention is drawn to Rule 5.5 of the Tribunal’s Rules of Procedure which reads as follows:

5.5 Where an Application is delivered to a Respondent who does not respond to the Application, the Tribunal may:

a) deem the Respondent to have accepted all of the allegations in the Application;

b) proceed to deal with the Application without further notice to the Respondent;

c) deem the Respondent to have waived all rights with respect to further notice or participation in the proceeding;

d) decide the matter based only on the material before the Tribunal.

6The applicant has provided a mailing address for the personal respondent. The Tribunal shall send a copy of this Interim Decision to the personal respondent at that address by both regular mail and courier.

7If the personal respondent wishes to participate in this proceeding, a Response must be filed with the Tribunal no later than 14 days from the date of this Interim Decision together with an explanation of why the Response was not filed in accordance with the Notice of Application. If a Response is not received, the Tribunal may proceed without further notice to the personal respondent and may take any or all of the steps set out in Rule 5.5.

8I am not seized of this matter.