On April 25, 2024, two new regulations were filed to amend the court rules for civil court proceedings: O. Reg. 175/24 and O. Reg. 176/24.
O. Reg. 175/24: Bifurcation orders
On May 3, 2023, the OBA provided the Bifurcation Subcommittee of the Civil Rules Committee our submission regarding a proposed amendment to Rule 6.1.01 of the Rules of Civil Procedure. We are pleased to see our recommendation reflected in O.Reg. 175/24 that the discussion about whether to bifurcate a trial should occur sufficiently before the trial.
In summary, O. Reg. 175/24 expands the availability of bifurcation orders and makes related amendments. The regulation amends five rules to:
- provide that an order for separate hearings on one or more issues in a proceeding (also known as bifurcation of the proceeding) may be made on a party’s motion either with or without the consent of all parties, or at a case conference only with consent of all parties;
- set out the factors the court shall consider in determining whether to order separate hearings;
- provide that a party who sets an action down for trial does not require leave to make a subsequent motion seeking an order for separate hearings;
- require each party’s pre-trial conference brief to set out their position on a potential order for separate hearings, if any of the parties in the proceeding is intending to seek such an order, both under the ordinary procedure and under the Rule 76 simplified procedure; and
- require any party’s intention to seek a bifurcation order to be one of the issues considered at the pre-trial conference in a proceeding.
O. Reg. 175/24 will come into force on July 1, 2024.
A summary of O. Reg. 175/24 is available on Ontario’s Regulatory Registry at: 24-MAG004.
O. Reg. 176/24: Motions for leave
In summary, O. Reg. 176/24 makes changes respecting three categories of motions for leave in the Superior Court of Justice and Divisional Court and introduces a new costs provision. The regulation amends five rules to:
- provide that a motion for leave to commence a claim in the Superior Court of Justice pursuant to section 23(1.1) of the Courts of Justice Act (i.e., an action in the jurisdiction of the Small Claims Court) may be made without notice unless the court orders otherwise;
- provide that such a motion may be granted only if it is in the interest of justice;
- move the existing provision in rule 14.01(3) respecting leave to commence a proceeding to a new location in rule 14.01.1;
- provide that the court may order costs against a plaintiff if it determines that the plaintiff included a claim for relief in order to avoid commencing the proceeding in the Small Claims Court;
- provide that the existing rule 62.02 procedure for motions for leave to appeal certain orders in the Divisional Court also applies to orders or decisions of tribunals under a statute; and
- create a new in-writing leave procedure to apply where a statute other than the Judicial Review Procedure Act requires leave of the Divisional Court or Superior Court of Justice to commence an application for judicial review.
Sections 1-3 of O. Reg. 176/24 will come into force on the day that section 1 of Schedule 3 of the Strengthening Safety and Modernizing Justice Act, 2023 comes into force. Sections 4 and 5 will come into force on July 1, 2024.
A summary of O. Reg. 176/24 is available on Ontario’s Regulatory Registry at: 24-MAG003.