Ontario Land Tribunal
Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire
ISSUE DATE: October 23, 2023
CASE NO(S).: OLT-23-000433
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 26(1) of the Expropriations Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. E.26, as amended
Claimant: Jonathan Stella
Respondent: The Corporation of the City of Barrie (City)
Description: Determination of Compensation
Property Address: 918 Veterans Drive
Municipality/UT: Barrie/Simcoe
OLT Case No.: OLT-23-000433
OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-23-000433
OLT Case Name: Stella v. The Corporation of the City of Barrie (City)
Heard: September 05, 2023, by Video Hearing
APPEARANCES:
Parties
Counsel
Jonathan Stella ("Claimant")
Emilio Bisceglia Hana Tariq
The Corporation of the City of Barrie (“Respondent”)
Ebaadh Rizwani
MEMORANDUM OF ORAL DECISION DELIVERED BY ROBERT G. ACKERMAN ON SEPTEMBER 5, 2023, AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL
INTRODUCTION
1This Hearing event is the first Case Management Conference (“CMC”) conducted in this Claim for compensation under the Expropriations Act. The Claim is brought by the Claimant against the Respondent and arises out of the Expropriation of the entirety of the Claimant’s property at 918 Veteran’s Drive, Barrie, for the construction of improvements to Veteran’s Drive and McKay Road West.
PROCEDURAL ORDER
2A draft Procedural Order (“PO”) had been circulated between Counsel and filed with the Tribunal’s Case Coordinator on July 24, 2023. Counsel advised the Tribunal that they were prepared to set a date for a Hearing on the Merits, and that a Five-day Hearing would be required. The Tribunal reviewed the draft PO with Counsel, noting that the Order of Evidence had not been properly completed as there was no indication of the number of witnesses to be called by either Party, and that no expert witness disciplines were identified. After discussions regarding the issues, Counsel revised their estimate and agreed that an Eight-day Hearing would be required.
3Following consultation, respecting the Tribunal’s calendar, and the availability of the Parties and Counsel, an Eight-day Hearing on the Merits, by Video Hearing (“VH”) was agreed upon, commencing on Monday, January 8, 2024, at 10 a.m., and concluding on Wednesday, January 17, 2024.
4Both Counsel advised that their clients would like to participate in a Tribunal-led Mediation of the Claim, and undertook to contact the Tribunal’s Mediation Coordinator.
5Counsel agreed to cooperate respecting the formulation of the Order of Evidence and Counsel for the Claimant undertook to revise and resubmit the draft PO to provide for specific timeline dates once the Hearing date was set.
6The Tribunal has subsequently received and reviewed the revised draft of the PO, Issues List (“IL”) and Order of Evidence. The fixed dates for the Hearing on the Merits and for the pre-Hearing timeline, are now provided in the PO appended to this Decision, and the coordinates for the Hearings are set out below in this Decision.
7Appended to this Decision as Attachment 1 is the PO, which will now govern all further pre-Hearing procedural requirements and the Hearing of the Arbitration.
8Appended to this Decision as Attachment 2 and Attachment 3, are the IL and Order of the Evidence, which shall govern the conduct of the Hearing on the Merits.
Merit HEARING – JANUARY 8 – JANUARY 17, 2024
9An Eight-day (8) Merit Hearing will commence by VH on Monday, January 8, 2024, at 10 a.m.
10Parties are asked to log into the VH at least 15 minutes before the start of the event to test their video and audio connections:
GoToMeeting: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/914098901
Access Code: 914-098-901
Audio-Only Telephone Line: +1 (647) 497-9391 OR Toll-Free +1 888-455-1389
11Parties are asked to access and set up the application well in advance of the event to avoid unnecessary delay. The desktop application can be downloaded at GoToMeeting or a web application is available: https://app.gotomeeting.com/home.html
12Persons who experience technical difficulties accessing the GoToMeeting application or who only wish to listen to the event can connect to the event by calling into an audio-only telephone line provided above.
13Individuals are directed to connect to the event on the assigned date at the correct time. It is the responsibility of the persons participating in the Hearing by video to ensure that they are properly connected to the event at the correct time. Questions prior to the Hearing event may be directed to the Tribunal’s Case Coordinator having carriage of this case.
ORDER
14THE TRIBUNAL ORDERS THAT the Procedural Order appended as Attachment 1 to this Decision shall govern the conduct of this proceeding.
“Robert G. Ackerman”
ROBERT G. ACKERMAN
MEMBER
Ontario Land Tribunal
Website: www.olt.gov.on.ca Telephone: 416-212-6349 Toll Free: 1-866-448-2248
The Conservation Review Board, the Environmental Review Tribunal, the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal and the Mining and Lands Tribunal are amalgamated and continued as the Ontario Land Tribunal (“Tribunal”). Any reference to the preceding tribunals or the former Ontario Municipal Board is deemed to be a reference to the Tribunal.
ATTACHMENT 1
CASE NO(S).: OLT-23-000433
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 26(1) of the Expropriations Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. E.26, as amended
Claimant: Jonathan Stella
Respondent: The Corporation of the City of Barrie (City)
Description: Determination of Compensation
Property Address: 918 Veterans Drive
Municipality/UT: Barrie/Simcoe
OLT Case No.: OLT-23-000433
OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-23-000433
OLT Case Name: Stella v. The Corporation of the City of Barrie (City)
PROCEDURAL ORDER
- The Tribunal may vary or add to the directions in this procedural order at any time by an oral ruling or by another written order, either on the parties’ request or its own motion.
Organization of the Hearing
The hearing will be held virtually and will begin on January 8, 2024 at 10 a.m.
The parties’ initial estimation for the length of the hearing is five (5) days. The parties are expected to cooperate to reduce the length of the hearing by eliminating redundant evidence and attempting to reach settlements on issues where possible.
The parties and participants identified at the case management conference are set out in Attachment 1.
The issues are set out in the Issues List attached as Attachment 2. There will be no changes to this list unless the Tribunal permits, and a party who asks for changes may have costs awarded against it.
The order of evidence shall be as set out in Attachment 3 to this Order. The Tribunal may limit the amount of time allocated for opening statements, evidence in chief (including the qualification of witnesses), cross-examination, evidence in reply and final argument. The length of written argument, if any, may be limited either on the parties’ consent, subject to the Tribunal’s approval, or by Order of the Tribunal.
Any person intending to participate in the hearing should provide a mailing address, email address and a telephone number to the Tribunal as soon as possible – ideally before the case management conference. Any person who will be retaining a representative should advise the other parties and the Tribunal of the representative’s name, address, email address and phone number as soon as possible.
Any person who intends to participate in the hearing, including parties, counsel and witnesses, is expected to review the Tribunal’s Video Hearing Guide, available on the Tribunal’s website.
Requirements Before the Hearing
The Claimant served and filed a Notice of Arbitration and Statement of Claim on or about Wednesday, May 24, 2023.
Barrie served and filed a Reply on or about Tuesday, June 13, 2023.
The parties shall exchange their respective Affidavits of Documents and Productions by Friday, October 13, 2023.
Examinations for Discovery of the representative of each party shall be completed on or before Friday, October 27, 2023. The parties consent to conducting examinations for discovery by way of videoconference.
Each party shall answer their respective undertakings arising from examinations for discovery on or before Friday, November 10, 2023.
Any motion arising from either documentary discover or the Examinations for Discovery and answers to undertakings, if necessary, shall be heard on Friday, November 24, 2023 at 10:00 a.m., and will be held by way of videoconference or at a mutually convenient location at the direction of the Tribunal. In the event that the parties do not require any such motion, they shall endeavour to notify the Tribunal, on consent, one week prior to the scheduled date for the motion, or as soon as possible thereafter.
Further answers to undertaking, questions taken under advisement, and/or refusals, further examinations for discovery, and/or further productions arising from a motion are to be answered, held, and/or provided within fifteen (15) days of the discovery motion before the Tribunal.
A party who intends to call witnesses, whether by summons or not, shall provide to the Tribunal and the other parties a list of the witnesses and the order in which they will be called. This list must be delivered on or before thirty (30) days prior to the start of the hearing and in accordance with paragraph 31 below. A party who intends to call an expert witness must include a copy of the witness’ Curriculum Vitae and the area of expertise in which the witness is prepared to be qualified.
Expert witnesses in the same field shall have a meeting on or before fifteen (15) days after the delivery of expert witness reports and use best efforts to try to resolve or reduce the issues for the hearing. Following the experts; meeting the parties must prepare and file a Statement of Agreed Facts and Issues with the OLT case co-ordinator on or before twenty (20) days prior to the start of the hearing.
An expert witness shall prepare an expert witness statement, which shall list any reports prepared by the expert, or any other reports or documents to be relied on at the hearing. Copies of this must be provided as in paragraph 20 below. Instead of a witness statement, the expert may file his or her entire report if it contains the required information. If this is not done, the Tribunal may refuse to hear the expert’s testimony.
Expert witnesses who are under summons but not paid to produce a report do not have to file an expert witness statement; but the party calling them must file a brief outline of the expert’s evidence as in paragraph 20 below. A party who intends to call a witness who is not an expert must file a brief outline of the witness’ evidence, as in paragraph 20 below.
On or before forty-five (45) days prior to the start of the hearing, the parties shall provide copies of their witness and expert witness statements to the other parties and to the OLT case co-ordinator and in accordance with paragraph 31 below.
On or before thirty (30) days prior to the start of the hearing, a participant shall provide copies of their written participant statement to the other parties in accordance with paragraph 31 below. A participant cannot present oral submissions at the hearing on the content of their written statement, unless ordered by the Tribunal.
Parties may provide to all other parties and the OLT case co-ordinator a written response to any written evidence on or before fifteen (15) days after the delivery of witness and expert witness statements and in accordance with paragraph 32 below.
A person wishing to change written evidence, including witness statements, must make a written motion to the Tribunal. See Rule 10 of the Tribunal’s Rules with respect to Motions, which requires that the moving party provide copies of the motion to all other parties 15 days before the Tribunal hears the motion.
A party who provides written evidence of a witness to the other parties must have the witness attend the hearing to give oral evidence, unless the party notifies the Tribunal at least 7 days before the hearing that the written evidence is not part of their record.
On or before twenty (20) days prior to the start of the hearing the parties shall confirm with the Tribunal if all the reserved hearing dates are still required.
On or before twenty (20) days prior to the start of the hearing, the parties shall provide copies of their visual evidence to all of the other parties in accordance with paragraph 32 below. If a model will be used, all parties must have a reasonable opportunity to view it before the hearing.
The parties shall cooperate to prepare a joint document book which shall be shared with the OLT case co-ordinator, electronically, on or before twenty (20) days prior to the start of the hearing.
Any documents which may be used by a party in cross examination of an opposing party’s witness shall be password protected and only be accessible to the Tribunal and the other parties if it is introduced as evidence at the hearing, pursuant to the directions provided by the OLT case co-ordinator, on or before the first day of the hearing or in advance of the start of the cross-examination of any witness at the hearing.
The parties will coordinate amongst themselves and make a request to the Tribunal for a mediation to be scheduled on or before Friday, December 1, 2023.
The parties shall prepare and file a preliminary hearing plan with the Tribunal on or before twenty (20) days before the hearing with a proposed schedule for the hearing that identifies, as a minimum, the parties participating in the hearing, the preliminary matters (if any) to be addressed, the anticipated order of evidence, the date each witness is expected to attend, the anticipated length of time for evidence to be presented by each witness in chief, cross- examination and re-examination (if any) and the expected length of time for final submissions. The parties are expected to ensure that the hearing proceeds in an efficient manner and in accordance with the hearing plan. The Tribunal may, at its discretion, change or alter the hearing plan at any time in the course of the hearing.
All filings shall be submitted electronically, unless otherwise directed by the Tribunal. Electronic copies may be filed by email, an electronic file sharing service for documents that exceed 10MB in size, or as otherwise directed by the Tribunal. The delivery of documents by email shall be governed by the Rule 7.
The Tribunal’s Rule 17 shall apply to requests for adjournments.
This Member is not seized. So orders the Tribunal.
Attachment 1
Party
Party Status
Counsel / Representative
Jonathan Stella
Claimant
BISCEGLIA & ASSOCIATES Professional Corporation 9100 Jane Street Building “A”, Suite 200 Vaughan, Ontario L4K 0A4 Emilio Bisceglia (LSO# 34568Q) T: 905.695.5200 F: 905.695.5201 ebisceglia@lawtoronto.com
The City of Barrie
Respondent
THE CITY OF BARRIE 70 Collier Street P.O. Box 400 Barrie, ON L4M 4T5 Ebaadh Rizwani (LSO #78115J) T: 705.739.4220 Ext. 4585 F: 705.739.4278 Ebaadh.Rizwani@barrie.ca
Attachment 2
OLT File No: OLT-23-000433
ONTARIO LAND TRIBUNAL
IN THE MATTER OF THE EXPROPRIATIONS ACT, R.S.O. 1990, c. E-26 AND IN THE MATTER OF AN ARBITRATION
B E T W E E N:
JONATHAN STELLA
- and -
THE CORPORATION OF THE CITY OF BARRIE
Claimant
Respondent
ISSUES LIST
- The issues shall be those as set out in the pleadings delivered by the Parties.
a. Notice of Arbitration and Statement of Claim, dated May 24, 2023.
b. Reply, dated June 13, 2023.
Attachment 3
OLT File No: OLT-23-000433
ONTARIO LAND TRIBUNAL
IN THE MATTER OF THE EXPROPRIATIONS ACT, R.S.O. 1990, c. E-26 AND IN THE MATTER OF AN ARBITRATION
B E T W E E N:
JONATHAN STELLA
- and -
THE CORPORATION OF THE CITY OF BARRIE
Claimant
Respondent
ORDER OF EVIDENCE
Claimant evidence in-chief
Claimant evidence in cross-examination
Respondent evidence in-chief
Respondent evidence in cross-examination
Respondent evidence in Reply, if necessary
Claimant evidence in Reply, if necessary