Notice to Profession – Southwest Region

IMPORTANT NOTICE

This notice has been superseded. Please refer to:  https://www.ontariocourts.ca/scj/notices-and-orders-covid-19/#REGIONAL_NOTICES for current information.

April 2, 2020

The urgent matters we have already been hearing will, of course, continue to be a priority and will be triaged to ensure urgency.

All urgent requests for hearings are to include an e-mail (maximum 2 pages) stating the relief requested and why it is urgent.

In addition, on April 6, 2020 the Southwest Region will expand in the following areas subject to available technology and any further direction by the Regional Senior Judge:

CRIMINAL

  1. Judicial Pre-Trials

Judicial pre-trials (JPTs) for both in-custody and out-of-custody cases.  Priority will be given to:

    1. Matters adjourned since March 16, 2020.
    2. Those that can resolve the case.
    3. Those that can substantially narrow the issues in the case.

Note – JPTs will not be scheduled until all sides have filed their completed Form 17 Reports and all counsel have certified to the trial co-ordinator they are fully informed and in a position to discuss all areas of the prosecution.  The Form 17’s and the certification are to be e-mailed directly to the trial co-ordinators at the appropriate location.  The e-mail addresses are set out below.

  1. Guilty Pleas

Guilty pleas and sentencing hearings for in-custody cases.  Guilty pleas for out-of-custody cases where there are joint submissions for non-custodial sentences.  Contact to be made as above with the trial co-ordinators.

  1. Habeas Corpus Applications

FAMILY

  1. 14B Consent Motions.
  2. 14B motions for procedural issues and disclosure.
  3. Case Conferences for no more than the two (2) most pressing issues. Case conference briefs limited to six (6) pages and the case conference to be no more than 30 minutes.

Case conference requests and briefs to be e-mailed directly to the trial co-ordinators.  The addresses are set out below.

Motion materials to be e-mailed to CSD at the generic drop box address set out below.

CIVIL

Urgent and emergency civil matters set out in the Notice to the Profession released by the Superior Court of Justice on March 15, 2020 will continue to be heard.  Starting on Monday, April 6, 2020, the court will also accept the following additional civil filings by e-mail to the addresses indicated below, subject to technology and the direction of the Regional Senior Judge:

  1. Pre-Trial Conferences for Settlement Purposes Only – For civil trials or pre-trial conferences that were cancelled in March or April 2020, parties may file request for pre-trial conference and pre-trial conference brief.* The parties must:
    1. Provide a teleconference line for the pre-trial conference (where parties are represented by counsel);
    2. Certify in the pre-trial conference brief that:
      1. the case is ready for settlement discussions;
      2. there are no impediments to a full discussion of resolution such as outstanding expert reports or productions, and
      3. the parties will attend with full authority to settle;
    3. Limit the pre-trial conference brief to ten (10) pages or fewer in length (no trial management sections are to be included); and
    4. Provide hyperlinks in the pre-trial conference brief to expert reports, case law, and any other pertinent documents.

Requests for pre-trial conferences and pre-trial conference briefs must be e-mailed to the trial co-ordinator at the e-mail address set out below.  No trial management discussions will take place during the pre-trial conferences at this time.*Starting on Monday, April 27, 2020, parties may request pre-trial conferences for civil trials and pre-trial conferences that were cancelled in May 2020.

  1. In-writing motions or applications under Rule 7 of the Rules of Civil Procedure (parties under disability).
  2. In-writing consent motions.

 In-writing motions and applications listed in paragraphs 2 and 3 above must be e-mailed to the generic CSD drop box at the address set out below.Regional Senior Justice B. G. Thomas

FILING ADDRESSES:

CSD DROP BOXES
Chatham.Courthouse@ontario.ca
Goderich.Courthouse@ontario.ca
London.Courthouse@ontario.ca
Sarnia.Courthouse@ontario.ca
Stratford.Courthouse@ontario.ca
StThomas.Courthouse@ontario.ca
Windsor.Courthouse@ontario.ca
Woodstock.Courthouse@ontario.ca
TRIAL CO-ORDINATOR E-MAIL ADDRESSES
Chatham.SCJ@ontario.ca
Goderich.SCJ@ontario.ca
London.SCJ@ontario.ca
London.Family.SCJ@ontario.ca
Sarnia.SCJ@ontario.ca
St.Thomas.SCJ@ontario.ca
Stratford.SCJ@ontario.ca
Windsor.SCJ@ontario.ca
Woodstock.SCJ@ontario.ca