Licence Appeal Tribunal

Safety, Licensing Appeals and Standards Tribunals Ontario

Tribunal d’appel en matière de permis Tribunaux de la sécurité, des appels en matière de permis et des normes Ontario

Date: 2020-09-21

An appeal from a Notice of Proposal of Tarion Warranty Corporation under the Ontario New Home Warranties Plan Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.O.31 to Refuse Registration

Between:

2620617 Ontario Inc. Appellant

and

Tarion Warranty Corporation Respondent

CASE CONFERENCE REPORT AND ORDER

Adjudicator: Ted Crljenica, Vice Chair

Appearances: For the Appellant: Jameel Madhany, Counsel For the Respondent: Danielle Peck, Counsel

Heard by Teleconference: August 27, 2020

BACKGROUND

1On June 12, 2020 Tarion Warranty Corporation (“the respondent”) issued a Notice of Proposal to refuse to register 2620617 Ontario Inc.(“the appellant”) as a builder and vendor under the Ontario New Home Warranties Plan Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.O.31 (the “Act”). The appellants have appealed under s. 9 of the Act. At a case conference held August 27, 2020, the parties were unable to settle the issues in dispute so the matter will proceed to a hearing.

I ORDER AS FOLLOWS:

Issues in Dispute

2The issues to be determined in this hearing are whether:

a. Having regard to the appellant’s financial position, can it reasonably be expected to be financially responsible in the conduct of its undertakings?

b. Does the past conduct of the appellant’s officers or directors afford reasonable grounds for belief that its undertakings will not be carried on in accordance with law and with integrity and honesty?

c. In regard to the appellant’s application for registration as a builder, does the appellant have sufficient technical competence to consistently perform the warranties?

The Hearing Dates

3The videoconference hearing will be scheduled for eight (8) days to be assigned by the Tribunal from November 30, 2020 to December 18, 2020, inclusive. A Notice of Hearing will be sent to the parties confirming the hearing dates, time and log-in details.

Witnesses

4The appellants’ witnesses will be Ali Fathi aka Gord Pahibod, an officer of the appellant corporation and Feng Han, aka William Han, an officer and director of the appellant corporation. The appellant shall serve on the respondent, by 4:30 p.m. on October 16, 2020, by electronic means, the name(s) of any additional witness(es) along with a short summary of the expected testimony of each of the appellants’ witnesses.

5The respondent’s witnesses will be Garish Sharma, the respondent’s Director of Licensing, a Warranty Service employee of the respondent and a Compliance Group witness of the respondent. The respondent shall serve on the appellants, by 4:30 p.m. on October 30, 2020, by electronic means, the name(s) of all of its witnesses along with a short summary of the expected testimony of each of the respondent’s witnesses.

Exchange of Documents

6No later than 4:30 p.m. on September 30, 2020, the parties will exchange document briefs, by electronic means. The brief shall contain all of the documents which the party intends to rely on at the hearing. The briefs shall be in pdf format, indexed and bookmarked. A copy of the document briefs shall also be filed with the Tribunal, by electronic means.

Procedural Matters

7As this hearing will be conducted via videoconference, the parties shall ensure that each of its witnesses has available to him or her copies of any documents that will or may be the subject matter of direct or cross-examination of that witness. In this regard, the documents provided to the witnesses shall bear the same tab numbers and page numbers as in the parties’ document brief(s).

8Each party shall ensure that their witnesses have access to a computer or other device with access to the internet, and equipped with a video camera, microphone and speakers.

9The appellant shall arrange for the attendance of a court certified interpreter for Feng Han aka William Han. No later than 4:30 p.m. on November 16, 2020 the respondent shall advise the appellant and the Tribunal of the interpreter’s name and provide a copy of the interpreter’s credentials.

10The parties shall be prepared to present their evidence and submissions to the Tribunal member(s) on the hearing date. The Tribunal member(s) will assess the evidence and decide the issues raised in the appeal.

11The Tribunal member(s) may amend the case management process set out in this Order, subject to the submissions from the parties, as deemed fit.

12If prior to the commencement of the hearing the parties determine that fewer or more hearing days will be required, they shall notify the Tribunal as soon as conveniently possible.

13If the matter is resolved prior to the hearing, the parties are required to notify the Tribunal in writing. If the appellant wishes not to continue with the appeal, the appellant must file a Notice of Withdrawal, available at https://slasto-tsapno.gov.on.ca/lat-tamp/en/general-service/forms/ and serve a copy of that Notice on the Registrar of Motor Vehicles and file a copy with the Tribunal.

14The Licence Appeal Tribunal, Animal Care Review Board, and Fire Safety Commission Common Rules of Practice and Procedure, Version 1 (October 2, 2017), apply to this appeal except where varied by Order.

15Nothing in this Order affects any requirement under the Act.