Keefer v. Fifty-Four Rideau Terrace Investments Ltd., 2014 HRTO 510

HUMAN RIGHTS TRIBUNAL OF ONTARIO

B E T W E E N:

Cecilia Keefer

Applicant

-and-

Fifty-Four Rideau Terrace Investments Ltd. o/a Rideau Terrace Investments and Ottawa-Carleton Condominium Corp. No. 894

Respondent

INTERIM DECISION

Adjudicator: Paul Aterman

Date: April 10, 2014

Citation: 2014 HRTO 510

Indexed as: Keefer v. Fifty-Four Rideau Terrace Investments Ltd.

WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS

Cecilia Keefer, Applicant

Chantal Tie, Counsel

Fifty-Four Rideau Terrace Investments Ltd. o/a Rideau Terrace Investments and Ottawa-Carleton Condominium Corp. No. 894, Respondent

Keith MacLaren, Counsel

1A hearing of this Application is scheduled for April 25, 2014 to determine whether there has been a contravention of Minutes of Settlement that the parties entered into in order to resolve an earlier Application.

2The applicant has made two requests. One is to amend her Application to add a claim for damages for breach of settlement. The other is that the hearing be held in the applicant’s home because she is elderly and disabled. Travelling to and from a hearing site would be difficult and sitting through a full day of hearing would be tiring.

3The respondent has not opposed the request to amend the Application. In relation to the request for the hearing to be held in the applicant’s home, the respondent has indicated that its witnesses would not be comfortable giving their evidence in the applicant’s living room. It asked the applicant to provide medical information supporting her request regarding the venue of the hearing.

4By letter dated March 27, 2014 the applicant has provided medical information in support of her request, but also indicated her willingness to provide her evidence in affidavit form and to attend the hearing by telephone in order to make herself available for cross-examination. The respondent has not stated what its position is in response to this correspondence.

5In light of the fact that the request to amend the Application is unopposed and that it does not seek to introduce new facts of change the character of the hearing, the applicant’s request to amend is granted.

6As the applicant has proposed a course of action regarding her participation in the hearing which meets both her concerns and those of the respondent, the applicant may provide her evidence in affidavit form, in accordance with the deadline set out below, provided that she is available by telephone to be cross-examined.

order

7The request to amend the Application to include a claim for damages is granted.

8By no later than April 18, 2014 the applicant is to provide the respondent and the Tribunal with copies of an affidavit of her evidence. The applicant will participate in the hearing by teleconference.