Ontario Land Tribunal
Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire
ISSUE DATE: November 23, 2023.
CASE NO(S).: OLT-23-000726
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER the Expropriations Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. E.26, as amended and in the matter of an Arbitration:
Claimant: 2090396 Ontario Limited
Respondent: Regional Municipality of York
Subject: Market Value, Disturbance Damages and/or Injurious Affection
Property Address/Description: 1500 Centre Street, Vaughan
Municipality: Regional Municipality of York
OLT Case No.: OLT-23-000726
OLT File No.: OLT-23-000726
OLT Case Name: 2090396 Ontario Limited v. Regional Municipality of York
BEFORE:
WILLIAM R. MIDDLETON
VICE-CHAIR
Thursday, the 23rd day of November, 2023
THE TRIBUNAL ORDERS that the Procedural Order, attached hereto as Appendix “1” shall govern this proceeding leading up to and including the hearing scheduled to commence on January 13, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. by Videoconference. The length of the hearing will be 10 days.
“Euken Lui”
EUKEN LUI
ACTING REGISTRAR
Ontario Land Tribunal
Website: 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
Appendix “1”
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.
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Audio line/Teleconference details: If the event is a teleconference or you are having difficulty connecting to a video event, please connect using the audio-line as shown below. You can connect to the call by dialling 1-888-299-1889 (Toll Free) or +1 (647) 497-9391.The access code is 927-921-077.
Organization of the Hearing
The video hearing will begin on January 13, 2025 at 10:00 a.m.
The parties’ initial estimation for the length of the hearing is ten (10) days. Notwithstanding the initial estimation for the length of the hearing, 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. In the event the parties agree that scheduled hearing days may be released from the Tribunal’s calendar they are to advise the Tribunal immediately.
The issues are as set out in the pleadings, including amendments, if any. 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 paragraph 32 of this Procedural 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 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 Respondent served and filed a Notice of Arbitration on July 26, 2023.
The Claimant served and filed a Statement of Claim on August 15, 2023.
The Respondent served and filed a Reply on September 5, 2023.
The parties may deliver amended pleadings, if applicable.
Affidavits of Documents (together with production briefs of the documents) shall be exchanged by February 15, 2024.
Discoveries shall be completed on or before March 15, 2024. The parties consent to conducting examinations for discovery by way of videoconference.
Answers to undertakings shall be exchanged by May 6, 2024.
Re-examination arising out of answers and/or undertakings, if any, shall take place by May 17, 2024.
Any motion(s) arising from Examinations for Discovery shall be filed on or before June 5, 2024. The Motion(s) if necessary, shall be brought in writing, subject to the Tribunal’s discretion to schedule an oral hearing on a date and time to be determined by the Tribunal. The Tribunal’s Rules of Practice and Procedure apply in relation to any Motion(s) arising out of the discovery process.
Parties 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 August 2, 2024 and in accordance with paragraph 34 below.
An expert witness shall prepare an expert report/witness statement, which shall list any reports prepared by the expert and any other reports or documents to be relied on at the hearing. Copies must be provided as in paragraphs 19 and 20 below. 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 paragraphs 19 and 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 19 below.
On or before August 26, 2024 the Claimant shall provide copies of its expert witness reports and non-expert/lay witness statements to the Respondent and to the OLT case co-ordinator and in accordance with paragraph 34 below.
On or before September 30, 2024 the Respondent shall provide copies of its expert witness reports and non-expert/lay witness statements to the other parties and to the OLT case co-ordinator and in accordance with paragraph 34 below.
The Claimant shall serve its reply expert reports and witness statements, if any, on or before October 28, 2024.
On or before December 13, 2024, the parties shall provide copies of their visual evidence to all of the other parties in accordance with paragraph 34 below. If a model will be used, all parties must have a reasonable opportunity to view it before the hearing.
Expert witnesses in the same field shall have a meeting by November 8, 2024 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 by December 6, 2024.
The Parties shall cooperate to prepare a Joint Document Book which shall be filed with the OLT case co-ordinator on or before December 13, 2024.
Any documents which may be used by a party in cross examination of an opposing party’s witness shall 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 January 13, 2025 or in advance of the start of the cross-examination of any witness at the hearing.
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 (fifteen) 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 (seven) days before the hearing that the written evidence is not part of their record.
In the event that a party seeks to exclude all or part of any expert report, witness statement or other written evidence, wherever possible a motion should be brought at least 60 (sixty) days prior to the hearing date. The Tribunal may decline to consider such a motion at the hearing if it is apparent that it could have been brought prior to the hearing.
The parties shall prepare and file a preliminary hearing plan with the Tribunal on or before December 23, 2024 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.
On or before December 9, 2024 the parties shall confirm with the Tribunal that all the reserved hearing dates are still required.
The parties are to update or confirm the hearing plan January 6, 2025.
The order of presentation of evidence shall be: a. case for the Claimant; b. case for the Respondent; and c. reply by the Claimant.
Any party choosing to serve a Request to Admit facts or documents pursuant to Rule 51 of the Rules of Civil Procedure, incorporated by reference in Tribunal Rule 1.04, shall serve such Request or Requests on the party opposite no later than November 4, 2024. A Response to Request to Admit shall be served by November 25, 2024.
General Provisions
All filings shall be submitted electronically and in hard copy, if requested 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.
No adjournments or delays will be granted before or during the Hearing except for serious hardship or illness. Tribunal Rule 17 applies to such requests.
TRIBUNAL REGISTRAR
Party
Party Status
Counsel / Representative
2090396 Ontario Limited
Claimant
Davies Howe LLP 425 Adelaide Street West, 10th Floor Toronto, ON M5V 3C1 Mark Flowers (LSO #43921B) T: 416.263.4513 markf@davieshowe.com
The Regional Municipality of York
Respondent
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP Barristers and Solicitors Bay Adelaide Centre, East Tower 22 Adelaide Street West, Suite 3400 Toronto, ON M5H 3Y4 Frank Sperduti (LSO #40677N) T: 416.367.6243 fsperduti@blg.com Lou Fortini (LSO# 43471V) T: 416.367.6052 lfortini@blg.com Michael Grant (LSO #77317Q) T: 416.367.6120 mgrant@blg.com