Andrew Abagi v. Signature Business Centres (St. Clair) Inc., 2016 HRTO 1328

HUMAN RIGHTS TRIBUNAL OF ONTARIO

B E T W E E N:

Andrew Abagi

Applicant

-and-

Signature Business Centres (St. Clair) Inc.

Respondent

INTERIM DECISION

Adjudicator: Keith Brennenstuhl

Date: October 13, 2016

Citation: 2016 HRTO 1328

Indexed as: Abagi v. Signature Business Centres (St. Clair) Inc.

1This Application alleges discrimination with respect to good, services and facilities because of race, colour, ancestry, place of origin and ethnic origin contrary to the Human Rights Code, R.S.O. 1990, c. H.19, as amended (the "Code").

2The hearing was scheduled for one day on October 17, 2016. On the afternoon of October 5, 2016, a principal of the respondent wrote to the Tribunal requesting an adjournment. He stated that:

I am writing that I just determined that our Notice of Hearing Date of Monday, October 17^th is also the first day of the Jewish Holiday of Sukkot and accordingly, I will not be available to attend the hearing on that date. The first 2 days of Sukkot begin on the 17^th so I will also not be available on the 18^th, so by way of this email, I am asking the Tribunal to kindly grant another date for this hearing.

I do apologize for this request, but as one of the 2 principals of Signature Business Centres, my attendance is required in order to refute the allegations contained in Mr. Abagi's claim.

3On October 12, 2016 the applicant wrote:

I just received an email regarding re-scheduling the trial, I would very much like to keep the Monday October 17, 2016 trial date, and do not consent to change this date. Larry Good has been aware of this date for months now, however if signature Business Centres would like to resolve this matter by way of settlement I would be open to negotiate a settlement before Monday October 17^th, 2016. With a settlement in place Larry Good's attendance will no longer be required.

4Adjournment requests are not granted automatically and will, in general, only be granted in extraordinary circumstances. Where a party seeks an adjournment, they must contact the Registrar as soon as the need arises and, if practicable; they should contact the other party to seek their consent, and to discuss alternative dates. The Tribunal's Information Bulletin on Scheduling of hearing and Mediations, Rescheduling Requests, and Requests for Adjournments states the following regarding request for adjournment:

Requests for adjournment, particularly last minute requests for adjournments are a significant impediment to fair and timely access to justice.

The Tribunal's approach to scheduling and rescheduling mediations and hearings is designed to give the parties a fair opportunity to find suitable dates. Therefore, the Tribunal discourages adjournment requests, and will only grant adjournments in extraordinary circumstances such as illness of a party, witness or representative.

5The respondent does not cite illness as the reason. As the applicant points out, the principal of the respondent has been aware of the hearing date for many months now and it is reasonable to assume that the principal would have been aware of the date of Sukkot long before requesting the adjournment. Nevertheless, I find that it would be highly prejudicial to the respondent to maintain the hearing date given that the principal will be unable to attend for religious purposes. Accordingly, the adjournment request is granted.

6So as to minimize any prejudice to the applicant, the Registrar will reschedule this matter for one day within the next month on one of the following dates: November 1, 2, 3, 7, 8 or 10, 2016. The parties must contact the Registrar by October 19, 2016 should they be unavailable on any of those dates.