Court File and Parties
COURT FILE NO.: CV-17-00581496
DATE: 20210512
SUPERIOR COURT OF JUSTICE – ONTARIO
RE: SONGFU LIU Plaintiff
AND:
JONATHAN CHAN Defendant
BEFORE: Mr. Justice Chalmers
COUNSEL: Songfu Liu, Self-Represented
J. Martin for the Defendant
HEARD: May 12, 2021 By videoconference
ENDORSEMENT
[1] The Regional Senior Judge for Toronto delegated the responsibility for determining requests for case management to Justice Darla Wilson. On April 15, 2021, Justice Wilson assigned me as the case management judge for this action. On April 22, 2021, a case conference was scheduled to take place on April 30, 2021. The case conference was rescheduled at the request of Mr. Liu to May 12, 2021.
[2] Mr. Liu brings this action for personal injury arising out of medical treatment provided by Dr. Chan between 2013-2015. The action was commenced on August 24, 2017. Mr. Liu made several amendments to the Claim. On November 20, 2018, Justice Glustein struck the Amended Amended Amended Fresh as Amended Statement of Claim. Mr. Liu filed a Second Fresh as Amended Statement of Claim on November 28, 2019. After the close of pleadings there was another amendment of the Statement of Claim on January 21, 2020. This amendment was made without court order or the consent of the Defendant.
[3] The Defendant delivered his sworn affidavit of documents on June 28, 2019. Mr. Liu served his sworn affidavit of documents and productions from July 31, to October 4, 2019. Mr. Liu argues that the Defendant has not disclosed all relevant documentation and wishes to bring a motion for further production of documents. The Defendant takes the position that all relevant documentation has been produced and Examinations for Discovery ought to be scheduled at this time.
[4] At the case conference today, Mr. Liu stated that he wishes to proceed with a motion for a further amendment of the Statement of Claim and for a further and better Affidavit of Documents from the Defendant before proceeding to the Examinations for Discovery. The Defendant advised that he intends to bring a motion for an order that the discoveries take place by remote videoconference. The Defendant may also be seeking an order to establish a timetable for the action.
[5] The Plaintiff’s motion for leave to amend the Statement of Claim and for further productions, and the Defendant’s motion with respect to the mode of discovery and timetable, is scheduled for June 30, 2021 for a half-day. The following timetable is established:
i) Moving party’s motion record to be delivered by May 28, 2021;
ii) Responding party’ motion record to be delivered by June 11, 2021;
iii) Cross examinations, if any, to be completed by June 18, 2021;
iv) Moving party’s factum to be delivered by June 22, 2021; and
v) Responding party’s factum to be delivered by June 25, 2021.
[6] The timetable applies both to the Plaintiff’s motion to amend and for further production and the Defendant’s motion with respect to the mode of discovery and timetable.
[7] The parties are directed to upload their motion materials in Caselines in accordance with Schedule A attached.
[8] I direct that the Examinations for Discovery of both parties shall be completed by August 31, 2021. The discoveries of both parties are to be completed within two days. Mr. Lui and counsel for Dr. Chan will co-operate with respect to scheduling mutually convenient dates for the discoveries.
[9] Should the parties have any issues with respect to scheduling the discoveries or if becomes necessary to amend the timetable for the motions returnable June 30, 2021, the parties may request a further case conference with me.
[10] As the case management judge, I remain seized of this matter.
DATE: MAY 12, 2021
SCHEDULE “A”
Uploading Documents into CaseLines for Hearings
The Ministry of the Attorney General has procured Thomson Reuters CaseLines for the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. CaseLines allows parties to upload electronic copies of their documents for review by all participants before and during a court hearing. You will receive an email invitation from CaseLines to upload your materials in advance of your court event. The email will include a link to your case within the system. CaseLines is the document sharing platform that will be used for all matters, unless the court orders otherwise.
Court documents must be filed with the court office before being uploaded into CaseLines, unless the court orders otherwise. Where possible, upload your documents into CaseLines at least 5 days prior to your court date so the judicial official can review them in advance of the hearing. See the CaseLines notice to the profession (https://www.ontariocourts.ca/scj/notices-and-orders-covid-19/supplementary-notice-september-2-2020/) for more information as well as Frequently Asked Questions about CaseLines (https://www.ontariocourts.ca/scj/notices-and-orders-covid-19/supplementary-notice-september-2-2020/faq-caselines/).
RULES FOR SUBMITTING DOCUMENTS FOR A HEARING (The following rules do not apply to case conferences)
The parties are referred to the checklist attached that summarizes the processes to file documents with the court and then to upload them to Caselines for use at the hearing.
The Rules of Civil Procedure, RRO 1990, Reg 194 have been amended effective January 1, 2021. Parties are reminded to refer to Rule 4.05.2 regarding the use of the Civil Submissions Online Portal and Rule 4.05.3 regarding the use of Caselines.
E-mail is the main method of communicating with the Civil Scheduling Unit and the Motions Co-ordinator in Toronto. All documents that a participant files with the court must show the participant’s email address if possible.
Counsel and all self-represented parties shall file all required motion or application documents with the Court and pay all required fees through the Civil Submissions Online Portal at https://www.ontario.ca/page/file-civil-claim-online where possible.
Sending documents to the court through the Civil Submissions Online Portal satisfies Rules and court orders requiring you to “file” the documents.
Preparing documents for a hearing by uploading them to Caselines (or previously to an online folder) is a mandatory additional step as set out below. It is not the same as filing documents through the Civil Submissions Online Portal.
Motion/Application participants must keep the court informed of their readiness and report to the court at the following times:
a. Parties must advise the Motions Co-ordinator by e-mail to LongMotionsStatus.Judge@ontario.ca 30 days prior to the motion or application hearing date about the status of the motion or application, including the names, telephone numbers, and email addresses of counsel for all parties and non-parties participating in the proceeding and for all others who are representing themselves. This is required to allow for efficient assignment of a judge and for creating a folder in the Caselines.
b. Rules 37.10.1 (1) and 38.09.1 (1) require the party who is making a motion or application to attempt to confer with the other party and email a Motion Confirmation Form to the Motions Coordinator. For both Motions and Applications, the Confirmation form should be emailed to the Motions Coordinator at LongMotionsStatus.Judge@ontario.ca at least one week before the scheduled hearing date. The rule provides that the Motion Confirmation Form must be sent to the court by 2 p.m. three days before the hearing date. However, if the Motion Confirmation Form is not sent one week in advance, the hearing date will not necessarily remain available.
After the Court receives the names, telephone numbers, and email addresses of all participants 30 days prior to the motion or application hearing date, the participants will receive an email from Caselines advising that it is ready for use. Participants shall then upload their documents to Caselines in accordance the Supplementary Notice to the Profession and Litigants in Civil and Family Matters – Including Electronic Filings and Document Sharing (Caselines Pilot) September 2, 2020; updated December 17, 2020 found at https://www.ontariocourts.ca/scj/notices-and-orders-covid-19/supplementary-notice-september-2-2020/.
To allow the judge to prepare for the hearing, all materials for use on a motion or application (except Compendiums and Costs Outlines) shall be uploaded to Caselines at least one week before the scheduled hearing date of the motion or application.
Each document loaded onto Caselines must be named using the naming rules described in section 8, Part C of the Consolidated Notice to the Profession, Litigants, Accused Persons, Public and the Media Re: Expanded Operations of Ontario Superior Court of Justice, effective May 19, 2020 https://www.ontariocourts.ca/scj/notices-and-orders-covid-19/consolidatednotice/#C_PROCEDURES_GOVERNING_ALL_SCJ_PROCEEDINGS_DURING_SUSPENSION_OF_IN-COURT_OPERATIONS
For motions and applications that are to be heard orally (and not in writing) all participants are required to serve on each other and upload to Caselines a Compendium containing the excerpted portions of the cases and of the evidence to which the party intends to refer during the hearing as described in Rule 4.05.3 (3)3 and (7). Compendiums should be prepared once counsel knows the documents and caselaw to which reference will be made at the hearing. Compendiums may be uploaded to Caselines at any time before the hearing.
Motion and application participants shall also upload to Caselines, in WORD format, a copy of their factum, with hyperlinks to case authorities, and a draft of any order that they seek.
Costs Outlines shall be exchanged and uploaded to Caselines prior to or during the hearing of the motion or application. No Offers to Settle that are relied upon for costs purposes shall be uploaded to Caselines without leave of the presiding judge.
REQUIRED STEPS CHECKLIST
| STEP | HOW | CHECK MARK IF DONE |
|---|---|---|
| File documents and pay all fees | File your documents and pay fees using the Civil Submissions Online portal https://www.ontario.ca/page/file-civil-claim-online. If your matter is urgent or you are filing documents for a court date or deadline that is fewer than 5 business days away, email your documents to the court office at : Civil Urgent Matters-SCJ-Toronto <CivilUrgentMatters-SCJ-Toronto@ontario.ca> Documents submitted to the court in electronic format must be named in accordance with the Superior Court’s Standard Document Naming Protocol, which can be found in section C.8 of the Consolidated Notice to the Profession, Litigants, Accused Persons, Public and the Media at: https://www.ontariocourts.ca/scj/notices-and-orders-covid-19/consolidated-notice/#8_Standard_document_naming_protocol See new Rule 4.05.2 Ensure your e-mail address is on all documents filed. |
|
| 30 DAYS BEFORE HEARING | Email Motions Co-ordinator 30 days prior to the motion or application hearing date about the status of the motion or application including names, telephone numbers, and e-mail addresses of all counsel and/or self-represented parties. After this is done, the parties will receive an email from CaseLines saying it is ready to use. | Send email to: LongMotionsStatus.Judge@ontario.ca |
| AT LEAST ONE WEEK BEFORE HEARING | Upload materials to CaseLines including all Motion Records, Factums, and the requested Draft Order or Judgment. Upload your factum and draft Order or Judgment in WORD format. See new Rule 4.05.3 Ensure you email address is on all documents filed. For more information about CaseLines, including answers to frequently asked questions, refer to Supplementary Notice to the Profession and Litigants in Civil and Family Matters – Including Electronic Filings and Document Sharing (CaseLines Pilot) September 2, 2020; updated December 17, 2020 found at https://www.ontariocourts.ca/scj/notices-and-orders-covid-19/supplementary-notice-september-2-2020/ |
|
| Confer with opposing counsel and e mail Motion Confirmation form to Motions Co-ordinator | For motions, see: Rule 37.10.1 and Form 37B. For applications, see: Rule 38.09.1(1) and Form 38B. Send e-mail to: LongMotionsStatus.Judge@ontario.ca |
|
| SHORTLY BEFORE HEARING | Upload Compendiums. For all oral motions and applications upload a Compendium to CaseLines at any time before the hearing which contain the excerpted portions of the cases and evidence which the parties intend to rely upon. Counsel and self-represented parties should familiarize themselves with the CaseLines-generated page numbering on uploaded documents for ease in directing the judge to specific pages. |
See email from CaseLines |
| Upload any amended requested Draft Order or Judgment into CaseLines | See uploading instructions in the Frequently Asked Questions About CaseLines at: https://www.ontariocourts.ca/scj/notices-and-orders-covid-19/supplementary-notice-september-2-2020/faq-caselines/ | |
| Exchange costs outlines not exceeding 3 pages in length | See Rule 57.01(6) and Form 57B | |
| AFTER THE HEARING | Upload the costs outlines to CaseLines if there have been no Rule 49 Offers to Settle. If there have been Rule 49 Offers to Settle, then costs outlines should be dealt with in the manner directed by the Motions or Applications Judge |