CITATION: Sun v. Law Society of Ontario, 2024 ONSC 5830
DIVISIONAL COURT FILE NO.: 303/24 DATE: 20241030
ONTARIO SUPERIOR COURT OF JUSTICE DIVISIONAL COURT
SACHS, MCCARTHY, MYERS JJ.
BETWEEN:
XIAOLIANG SUN
Self-Represented Applicant
Applicant
– and –
LAW SOCIETY OF ONTARIO
Nader R. Hasan, Stephen Aylward, and
Respondent
Daniel Goudge, for the Respondent
HEARD at Toronto: October 2, 2024,
rEASONS FOR DECISION
Sachs J. (Orally):
[1] We agree with the Respondent, the Law Society of Ontario that this Application is premature, as the Applicant has not exhausted his opportunities to re-write the barrister examination.
[2] The Court of Appeal found in Volochay v. College of Massage Therapists of Ontario, 2012 ONCA 541, that “unless exceptional circumstances exist, a court should not interfere in an administrative proceeding until it has run its course.”, at para 68.
[3] This principle is driven by several policy considerations; the need for judicial economy, the desire to avoid a piecemeal approach to judicial review and the desire to allow the administrative agency to address any issues of fairness that are raised internally first. In this case, it is clear that if the applicant is successful on the re-write of the barrister examination, this application will become moot.
[4] Furthermore, the applicant has raised issues of fairness relating to the Law Society’s failure to accommodate him in the writing of that examination. Now that he has raised these issues with the Law Society, the Law Society has put in place the accommodation requested. Thus, not only will the applicant be given an opportunity to re-write the examination at issue, that opportunity will be done in a way that addresses many of the fairness concerns the applicant raised on this application.
[5] For these reasons, this application is dismissed as premature.
[6] As agreed by the parties, the Law Society is entitled to its costs of this application fixed in the amount of $5,000, all-inclusive.
Sachs J.
I agree___________________________
McCarthy J.
I agree___________________________
Myers J.
Oral Reasons Released: October 2, 2024
Written Endorsement Released: October 30, 2024,
CITATION: Sun v. Law Society of Ontario, 2024 ONSC 5830
DIVISIONAL COURT FILE NO.: 303/24 DATE: 20241030
ONTARIO
SUPERIOR COURT OF JUSTICE
DIVISIONAL COURT
SACHS, MCCARTHY, MYERS JJ.
BETWEEN:
XIAOLIANG SUN
Applicant
– and –
LAW SOCIETY OF ONTARIO
Respondent
ORAL REASONS FOR DECISION
SACHS J.
Oral Reasons Released: October 2, 2024
Written Endorsement Released: October 30, 2024