Zeng v. Conversion Marketing-Communication Inc., 2017 HRTO 1199

Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario

B E T W E E N:

Jia Zeng Applicant

-and-

Conversion Marketing-Communication Inc. Respondent

DECISION

Adjudicator: Mark Hart Date: September 13, 2017 Citation: 2017 HRTO 1199 Indexed as: Zeng v. Conversion Marketing-Communication Inc.

1This is an Application dated November 15, 2016, alleging discrimination with respect to employment because of race, colour, place of origin and citizenship contrary to the Human Rights Code, R.S.O. 1990, c. H.19, as amended (the "Code").

2This matter is currently scheduled to proceed to a hearing in Toronto on September 22, 2017.

3By Case Assessment Direction ("CAD") dated August 23, 2017, I noted that the parties had not complied with their pre-hearing obligations, in that they had failed to file their lists of witnesses, a summary of what each witness would say, and the documents upon which they intended to rely at the hearing. In accordance with this Tribunal's Rules of Procedure, this pre-hearing material was to have been filed by the parties by August 8, 2017. The parties were notified of these obligations and the deadline for filing this material in the Notice of Hearing sent to the parties on May 18, 2017.

4I afforded the parties until September 8, 2017 to comply with their pre-hearing obligations. My CAD expressly stated that if the applicant failed to serve and file these materials by September 8, 2017, the Application may be dismissed as abandoned.

5The respondent complied with its pre-hearing obligations by e-mail correspondence dated September 8, 2017.

6To date, this Tribunal has received no communication from the applicant in response to my CAD, and she continues to have failed to comply with her pre-hearing obligations as required by this Tribunal's Rules. The CAD dated August 23, 2017 was sent to the applicant by e-mail at the e-mail address provided by her in the Application, which had been used by her to correspond with the Tribunal as recently as March 22, 2017, and was not returned to the Tribunal as undeliverable. The CAD dated August 23, 2017, also was sent by mail and courier to the applicant at her home address as confirmed by the applicant on February 8, 2017, and I have confirmed that the courier package was delivered to this address and signed for by the applicant at 10:33 a.m. on August 24, 2017. Accordingly, I am satisfied that the applicant had notice regarding her need to comply with her pre-hearing obligations, and the consequences of failing to do so as set out in my CAD.

7The filing of an application with this Tribunal commences a legal proceeding, and the parties are obligated to comply with the requirements set out in this Tribunal's Rules of Procedure and with this Tribunal's orders and directions. In the instant case, the applicant has been reminded of these obligations and has been given an opportunity to comply. Not only has she failed to comply with her obligations, this Tribunal has received no communication from her whatsoever in response to my CAD. In these circumstances, I can only conclude that this Application is abandoned. The Application is dismissed on that basis, and the hearing currently scheduled for September 22, 2017 is hereby cancelled.

ORDER

8The Application is dismissed as abandoned, and the hearing currently scheduled for September 22, 2017 is hereby cancelled.