Ontario Land Tribunal
Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire
ISSUE DATE: April 16, 2024
CASE NO(S).: OLT-23-001122
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 26(1) of the Expropriations Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. E.26, as amended
Claimant: Lino and Letizia De Santis
Respondent: Regional Municipality of Peel
Description: Determination of compensation
Property Address: 6576 Mayfield Road
Municipality/UT: Brampton/Peel
OLT Case No.: OLT-23-001122
OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-23-001122
OLT Case Name: De Santis v. Regional Municipality of Peel
Heard: March 20, 2024, by Video Hearing
APPEARANCES:
Parties Lino, Letizia, Stefano and Maria Pia De Santis ("Claimants")
Counsel John Doherty Kevin Dias
Parties Regional Municipality of Peel ("Peel")
Counsel Julie Lesage Liviu Cananau (in absentia)
MEMORANDUM OF ORAL DECISION DELIVERED BY WILLIAM MIDDLETON ON MARCH 20, 2024, AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL
1This was the first Case Management Conference held in this matter involving an expropriation by the Regional Municipality of Peel relating to the property owned by the Claimants municipally known as 6576 Mayfield Road in the City of Brampton, in Peel.
2The Parties expect to have discussions aimed at resolving this case and may request a mediation facilitated by the Tribunal’s mediation group in due course.
3In the meantime, the Parties wished to schedule a hearing date and to finalize a Procedural Order to govern this case.
4The Tribunal has scheduled a hearing commencing Tuesday, April 8, 2025, for a period of five days, ending Monday, April 14, 2025.
5Parties and Participants are asked to log into the Video Hearing at least 15 minutes before the start of the event to test their video and audio connections:
GoToMeeting: https://meet.goto.com/558205565
Access code: 558-205-565
6Parties and Participants are asked to access and setup the application well in advance of the event to avoid unnecessary delay. The desktop application can be downloaded at GoToMeeting or a web application available: https://app.gotomeeting.com/home.html
7Persons 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: (Toll-Free) 1-888-299-1889 or +1 (647) 497-9373. The Access code is as indicated above.
8Individuals 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 Video Hearing 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
9THE TRIBUNAL ORDERS THAT:
(a) The hearing of this proceeding shall commence as scheduled above;
(b) The Procedural Order appended as Attachment A shall govern the conduct of this case.
"William Middleton"
WILLIAM MIDDLETON
VICE-CHAIR
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.
ATTACHMENT A
OLT Case No.: OLT-23-001122
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:
LINO DE SANTIS AND LETIZIA DE SANTIS
Claimants
and
The Regional Municipality of Peel
Respondent
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 video hearing will begin on Tuesday, April 8, 2025 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 (see the sample procedural order for the meaning of these terms).
Issues
- The issues are set out in the Claimants’ Notice of Arbitration and Statement of Claim and the Respondent’s Reply.
Order of Evidence
The order of evidence shall be as set out in Attachment 2 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 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
Unsworn Affidavits of Documents of the Claimants and the Respondent will be exchanged (with sworn copies to follow in advance of Examinations for Discovery) on or before Friday, June 28, 2024.
Examinations for Discovery will take place approximately on or before Friday, July 19, 2024. All undertakings provided at the Examinations for Discovery of the parties will be answered 60 days following the Examinations for Discovery.
Any motions resulting from the Undertakings and Refusals shall be filed 30 days following the receipt of the Answers to Undertakings.
The parties agree that, if attendance at mediation is agreed to by both parties after the exchange of expert reports, the parties are to attend and participate in a mediation pursuant to Rule 18 of the Tribunal’s Rules of Practice and Procedure before the Tribunal on or before Friday, December 20, 2024, with mediation briefs being provided at least 10 days before the mediation date.
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 Friday, November 1, 2024, and in accordance with paragraph 26 below. The parties may call additional expert witnesses, not listed on their list of witnesses, where they will tender evidence in a discipline not already being called by that party and where this evidence is restricted to replying to issues raised by the other party’s witness in their witness statement. 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 Friday, January 17, 2025, 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 Friday, February 7, 2025.
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 16 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 16 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 16 below.
On or before Wednesday, May 8, 2024, 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 26 below, in accordance with Rule 26.21.
On or before Wednesday, May 8, 2024, a participant shall provide copies of their written participant statement to the other parties in accordance with paragraph 26 below. A participant cannot present oral submissions at the hearing on the content of their written statement, unless ordered by the Tribunal.
On or before Friday, November 29, 2024, the parties shall deliver all reply evidence to the other parties and to the OLT case co-ordinator and in accordance with paragraph 26 below.
On or before Friday, February 21, 2025, the parties shall confirm with the Tribunal if all the reserved hearing dates are still required.
On or before Friday, February 21, 2025, the parties shall provide copies of their visual evidence to all of the other parties in accordance with paragraph 26 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 on or before Friday, March 7, 2025.
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 7:00 p.m. the day before that witness gives evidence.
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 fifteen (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 on or before Monday, March 24, 2025 that the written evidence is not part of their record.
The parties shall prepare and file a preliminary hearing plan with the Tribunal on or before Friday, March 28, 2025 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 and in hard copy. 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. The Tribunal’s Rule 17 applies to such requests.
This Member is not seized.
So orders the Tribunal.
KEY PROCEDURAL DATES
Exchange of Witness and Expert Statements, together with Participant Statement(s) Wednesday, May 8, 2024
Exchange of Affidavit of Documents (unsworn) Friday, June 28, 2024
Examinations for Discovery to be conducted by Friday, July 19, 2024
Answers to Undertakings Sixty (60) days following the Examinations for Discovery.
Motions for Answers to Undertakings to be filed Thirty (30) days following receipt of the Answers to Undertakings.
Exchange of Witness Lists Friday, November 1, 2024
Exchange of Reply Witness and Reply Expert Statements Friday, November 29, 2024
Mediation to be conducted before the OLT No later than Friday, December 20, 2024.
Meeting of Experts Friday, January 17, 2025
Filing of Statement of Agreed Facts Friday, February 7, 2025
Exchange of Visual Evidence Friday, February 21, 2025
Advise OLT if any hearing dates are no longer required Friday, February 21, 2025
Joint Book of Documents to be filed Friday, March 7, 2025
Advise OLT if any witnesses no longer required Monday, March 24, 2025
Hearing Plan to be filed Friday, March 28, 2025
Hearing Tuesday, April 8, 2025 to Monday, April 14, 2025
ATTACHMENT #1
PARTIES & PARTICIPANTS
Counsel for the Claimants:
Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP 345 King Street West Suite 600 Kitchener, ON N2G 1B8
John Doherty Tel: 519-575-7518 John.doherty@gowlingwlg.com
Kevin Dias Tel: 519-575-7527 Kevin.dias@gowlingwlg.com
Counsel for the Respondent:
Regional Municipality of Peel 10 Peel Centre Drive Brampton, ON L6T 4B9
Liviu Cananau Tel: 416-367-6613 LCananau@blg.com
Julie Lesage Tel: 416-367-6276 JLesage@blg.com
ATTACHMENT #2
ORDER OF EVIDENCE
- Claimants, Lino De Santis & Letizia De Santis
- Respondent, Regional Municipality of Peel
- Reply of the Claimants, Lino De Santis & Letizia De Santis