Licence Tribunal
Appeal d'appel en
Tribunal matière de permis
DATE:
2012-05-02
FILE:
6988/LLA
CASE NAME:
6988 v. Registrar of Alcohol and Gaming
Appeal from the Notice of Proposal# 18910 of the Registrar of Alcohol and Gaming under the Liquor Licence Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. L. 19 - to Suspend a Licence
2088675 Ontario Inc o/a Zu bar
Applicant
-and-
Registrar of Alcohol and Gaming
Respondent
ORDER
ADJUDICATOR:
Patricia McQuaid, Vice-Chair
APPEARANCES:
For the Applicant:
Kevin D. Toyne, Counsel
For the Respondent:
Tamara Brooks, Counsel
Heard in Toronto:
May 2, 2012
ORDER
The Registrar of Alcohol and Gaming (the “Registrar”) under the Liquor Licence Act, (the “Act”) issued a Notice of Proposal, September 28, 2011, which proposed to suspend a liquor licence # 200843 issued to 2088675 Ontario Inc o/a Zu Bar. The Applicant appealed this Notice of Proposal to the Licence Appeal Tribunal.
The Applicant, by way of motion, seeks an adjournment of the hearing of its appeal which has been scheduled for May 7-9, 2012. The essential ground for the adjournment request is fact of the appeal of a January 21, 2012 decision of the Tribunal to Divisional Court filed by the Applicant, Court File No. 165-12, (the “Appeal”). The Tribunal in that decision found Zu Bar to be in violation of ss 45(1) of Ontario Regulation 719/90 (the”OReg”) under the Act. The Applicant seeks to have that decision overturned, one of the grounds being that the Tribunal’s interpretation of that regulation and the defences available to a licensee, based on earlier jurisprudence from the Ontario Courts, was incorrectly decided. Given that one of the issues before the Tribunal in this instance is an allegation of a breach of ss. 45(1) of the OReg and as a result, similar issues of law to that under appeal, Mr Toyne submits that there will be significant prejudice to the Applicant if it is forced to proceed to a hearing before the Divisional Court appeal is determined.
Ms Brooks, on behalf of the Registrar, has consented to this adjournment, given the commonality of issues between this matter and those under appeal, which may affect the outcome. The Registrar has proposed terms to ensure unnecessary delay does not occur, to which Mr Toyne, on behalf of his client, agrees.
Mr. Toyne confirmed that the transcript of proceedings required as a first step in the perfection of the Appeal have been received and he anticipates that the Appeal will be perfected by mid June.
Having reviewed the motion materials and hearing the submissions from the parties, the Tribunal is prepared to grant the adjournment.
Therefore, the Tribunal orders as follows:
The hearing in this matter scheduled for May 7-9, 2012 is hereby adjourned.
A factum will be served/filed within 60 days of the receipt of transcripts and the Appeal perfected within the time prescribed in the Court Rules.
Failure to comply with the term above will result in the adjournment being immediately lifted by the Tribunal and the hearing of this matter will be scheduled forthwith.
The parties will convene before the Tribunal on August 7, 2012 at 9:30 a.m., by teleconference, to provide a report on the status of the appeal. Counsel for the Applicant will provide Registrar’s counsel and the Tribunal with copies of any documents relevant to this status update in advance of the teleconference.
LICENCE APPEAL TRIBUNAL
Patricia McQuaid, Vice-Chair
Released: May 11, 2012