Civil Procedure (Law 225) is designed to teach students how to work with the statutory rules and regulations that govern civil litigation in Ontario Superior Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal for Ontario. This is an intensely practical course. Aside from various rules, we will consider common law and equitable doctrines that become relevant in the context of procedural law. By the end of the course, it is expected that students will be able to have sufficient knowledge to structure litigation including interlocutory procedures, advise clients on process and risk, understand the financial consequences of litigation for winners and losers alike, and have the ability to draft some fundamentally important documents.
Classes: Tuesdays & Thursdays 10:00-11:30am (Lecture Hall 001)
Assessment: 100% open-book examination
Course Materials: Please note that there is no casebook to purchase. The assigned readings are available to you online (through CanLII, Westlaw, or Quicklaw).
You should download the following:
The Ontario Rules of Civil Procedure
Law Society of Ontario, Rules of Professional Conduct
We will refer to these materials often and you will need to have a copy for reference on the exam. If you wish, there are commercially published collections of annotated statutory materials available through the usual legal publishing houses (not recommended).
TOPICS & READINGS
There is an online reference work, Civil Procedure and Practice in Ontario, 2nd Edition (CanLII). I’ve included the relevant chapters (and sometimes other materials) in the reading list as background reading to be skimmed or read in greater detail as is your preference.
January 9, 2024
Introduction to the Course. No Reading.
January 11, 2024
I. INTRODUCTION TO THE SUBJECT
Background / reference reading (not required):
Heather Hui-Litwin, General Matters, Rule 1 – Citation, Application, Interpretation, 2021 CanLIIDocs 1983
Barbara L. Grossman & Ara Basmadjian, Pre-Trial
Procedures, Rule 49.01-.09 – Offer to Settle, 2021 CanLIIDocs 2041
(a) ‘Adversarial Justice’ and ‘Access to Justice’
Christie v. British Columbia (Attorney General), 2007 SCC 21 (S.C.C.)
Trial Lawyers Association of British Columbia v. British Columbia (Attorney General), 2014 SCC 59 (S.C.C.)
(b) What are these Rules I keep Hearing About???
“Rule”, “Rules”, and “subrule” refers to the Ontario Rules of Civil Procedure, R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 194 under the Courts of Justice Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C.43.
Rules 1-2
Lecture Notes 1 – Introduction (I)
Unfortunately the video recording of the class failed, but Andrew Omazic kindly supplied an audio recording.
January 16-18, 2024
(c) Professionalism
Law Society of Upper Canada, Rules of Professional Conduct
Groia v. Law Society of Upper Canada, 2018 SCC 27 (S.C.C.)
(d) The Filter – Introduction to the ‘Costs Rules’
Courts of Justice Act, Section 131
Barlow v Citadel General Assurance Co., 2008 CanLII 3215 (Ont. S.C.J.)
Davies v. Clarington (Municipality), 2009 ONCA 722 (Ont. C.A.)
Standard Life Assurance Co. v Elliott, 2007 CanLII 18579 (Ont. S.C.J.)
Best v. Ranking, 2016 ONCA 492 (Ont. C.A.)
Costa v. Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology, 2023 ONCA 673 (Ont. C.A.)
Lecture Notes 2 – Introduction (II)
Recording of class held Jan. 18, 2024
January 18, 2024
II. JURISDICTION: Jurisidiction Simpliciter & Forum Non Conveniens
Background / reference reading (not required):
Angela Swan, “Freedom from the Conflict of Laws Is in Your Grasp” (2020), 51 Advoc. Q. 21
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Courts of Justice Act, Section 11(2)
Club Resorts Ltd. v. Van Breda, 2012 SCC 17 (S.C.C.)
Lapointe Rosenstein Marchand Melançon LLP v. Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP, 2016 SCC 30 (S.C.C.)
Haaretz.com v. Goldhar, 2018 SCC 28 (S.C.C.)
Vale Canada Limited v. Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Company of Canada, 2022 ONCA 862 (Ont. C.A.)
Gebien v. Apotex Inc., 2023 ONSC 6792 (Ont. S.C.J.)
Lecture Notes 3 – Jurisdiction
January 23, 2024
III. PARTIES
Background / reference reading (not required):
Angelique Moss, Rules of Civil Procedure Chapters, Parties and Joinder, Rule 7 – Parties Under Disability
Thomas Slade, Rules of Civil Procedure Chapters, Parties and Joinder, Rule 13 – Intervention
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Gronnerud (Litigation Guardians of) v. Gronnerud Estate, 2002 SCC 38 (S.C.C.)
Lochner v Callanan, 2016 ONSC 1705 (Ont. S.C.J.) [If you’re interested, the saga is recounted in Lochner v. Ontario Civilian Police Commission, 2020 ONCA 720 (Ont. C.A.)]
Halpern v. Toronto (City) Clerk, 2000 CanLII 29029 (Ont. Div. Ct.)
Hollinger Inc. v. Ravelston Corp., 2008 ONCA 207 (Ont. C.A.)
Gligorevic v. McMaster, 2010 ONSC 3842 (Ont. S.C.J.)
January 25, 2024
IV. RES JUDICATA, ESTOPPEL, AND ABUSE OF PROCESS
Background / reference reading (not required):
Paul M. Perell, “Res Judicata and Abuse of Process” (2001), 24 Advocates’ Quarterly 189.
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Toronto (City) v. C.U.P.E., Local 79, 2003 SCC 63 (S.C.C.)
Danyluk v. Ainsworth Technologies Inc., 2001 SCC 44 (S.C.C.)
Penner v. Niagara (Regional Police Services Board), 2013 SCC 19 (S.C.C.)
Lecture Notes 5 – Res Judicata
January 30, 2024
Res Judicata (cont’d)
Toronto (City) v. C.U.P.E., Local 79, 2003 SCC 63 (S.C.C.)
Penner v. Niagara (Regional Police Services Board), 2013 SCC 19 (S.C.C.)
V. LIMITATIONS
Background / reference reading (not required):
Katherine T Di Tomaso, Limitations Act Chapters, 1. Definitions/Basic Limitation Period, Sections 1 – 5 AND Ultimate Limitation Periods/No Limitation Periods/General Rules/Transition, Sections 15 – 24
Christina Poretta and Rahim Punjani, The Clock Strikes- A Review of the Limitations Act, 2002, a Decade Later (2015), 44 Advocates’ Quarterly 346
Debbie Boswell, Yola S Ventresca, Limitations Act Chapters, 2. Incapable Persons/Appointment of Litigation Guardian, Sections 6 – 9
Debbie Boswell, Yola S Ventresca, Limitations Act Chapters, 3. Attempted Resolutions, Successors, Acknowledgments, and Notices of Possible Claim, Sections 11 – 14
—
Limitations Act, 2002, S.O. 2002, c. 24
McConnell v. Huxtable, 2014 ONCA 86 (Ont. C.A.)
Lecture Notes 6 – Limitations (I)
Feb 1, 2024
Limitations (cont’d)
M.(K.) v. M.(H.), [1992] 3 SCR 6 (S.C.C.)
Collins v. Cortez, 2014 ONCA 685 (Ont. C.A.)
Brown v. Baum, 2016 ONCA 325 (Ont. C.A.)
Independence Plaza 1 Associates, L.L.C. v. Figliolini, 2017 ONCA 44 (Ont. C.A.)
Lecture Notes 7 – Limitations (II)
February 6, 2024
VI. PLEADINGS
Background / reference reading (not required):
Andrew Monkhouse, Lexa Cutler, Enbal Singer, Rules of Civil Procedure Chapters, Pleadings, Rule 25 – Pleadings in Action, 2nd ed, 2022 CanLIIDocs 1008
Marcela Aroca, Stephen Yoker, Sid Brejak, Rules of Civil Procedure Chapters, Motions and Applications, Rule 38 – Applications – Jurisdiction and Procedure
—
Examples of Pleadings:
(a) Terminology
See Rules 25-29
Proceeding
Originating Process
Action
Application
Claim
Counterclaim
Crossclaim
Third Party Claim
Defence
Reply
Issued
Served
Filed
Deliver
(b) Rule 25 Concepts: Material Facts and Particulars
Rule 25
Copland v. Commodore Business Machines Ltd., 1985 CanLII 2190 (Ont. S.C.J.)
Mudrick v. Mississauga Oakville VeterinaryEmergency Professional Corp., 2008 CanLII 58422 (Ont. S.C.J.)
Whiten v. Pilot Insurance Co., 2002 SCC 18 (S.C.C.)
Lecture Notes 8 – Pleadings (I)
February 8, 2024
(c) Substantive Inadequacy: Motion to Strike the Pleadings
Hunt v. Carey Canada Inc., [1990] 2 SCR 959 (S.C.C.)
Holland v. Saskatchewan (Minister of Agriculture, Food & Rural Revitalization), 2008 SCC 42 (S.C.C.)
(d) Amending the Pleadings
Rule 26
Miguna v. Ontario (Attorney General), 2005 CanLII 46385 (Ont. C.A.)
Stekel v. Toyota Canada Inc., 2011 ONSC 6507 (Ont. S.C.J.)
(e) Service
(f) Computation of Time
Rule 3
Lecture Notes 9 – Pleadings (II)
February 13, 2024
Problem Questions (to be circulated)
February 15, 2024
VII. DISCOVERY
Background / reference reading (not required):
Atrisha Lewis, Meghan Bridges, Sarah Murphy, Rules of Civil Procedure Chapters, Discovery, Rule 29.1 – Discovery Plan
Cynthia Kuehl, Chris Dias, Rules of Civil Procedure Chapters, Discovery, Rule 29.2 – Proportionality in Discovery
Joshua JA Henderson, Akari Sano, Rules of CivilProcedure Chapters, Discovery, Rule 30.01-30.03 –Discovery of Documents
James F Diamond and Anne D Lewis, Rules of Civil Procedure Chapters, Discovery, Rule 30.04-30.11 – Discovery of Documents
Vinidhra Vaitheeswaran, Rules of Civil Procedure Chapters, Discovery, Rule 30.1 – Deemed Undertaking
Neil Wilson, Madison Santos, Rules of Civil Procedure Chapters, Discovery, Rule 31 – Examination for Discovery
Vipal Jain, John Buhlman, Rules of Civil Procedure Chapters, Discovery, Rule 32 – Inspection of Property
Selwyn A Pieters, Thoby King, Rules of Civil Procedure Chapters, Discovery, Rule 33 – Medical Examination of Parties
Brian Sunohara et al, Rules of Civil Procedure Chapters, Examination out of Court, Rule 34 –
Procedure on Oral Examinations
Sapna Thakker, Rules of Civil Procedure Chapters, Examination out of Court, Rule 35 – Procedure on Examination for Discovery by Written Questions
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(a) Privilege
Rules 29.1-35
Airst v. Airst, 1998 CanLII 14647 (Ont. Sup. Ct.)
General Accident Assurance v. Chrusz, 1999 CanLII 7320 (Ont. C.A.)
Pritchard v. Ontario (Human Rights Commission), 2004 SCC 31 (S.C.C.)
Blank v. Canada (Minister of Justice), 2006 SCC 39 (S.C.C.)
Kitchenham v. AXA Ins. Canada, 2008 ONCA 877 (Ont. C.A.)
White v. 123627 Canada Inc., 2014 ONSC 2682 (Ont. S.C.J.)
Lecture Notes 10 – Discovery (I)
Reading Week
February 27, 2024
Class was cancelled.
February 29, 2024
We will finish the materials left incomplete on February 15, 2024.
(c) Examination for Discovery
Ontario v. Rothmans Inc., 2011 ONSC 2504 (Ont. S.C.J.)
Noble v. York University Foundation, 2010 ONSC 399
Ornstein (Litigation Guardian of) v. Starr, 2011 ONSC 4220
Lecture Notes 11 – Discovery (II)
March 5, 2024
(d) Documentary Discovery
Warman v. Wilkins-Fournier, 2011 ONSC 3023 (Ont. S.C.J.)
Frangione v. Vandongen, 2010 ONSC 2823 (Ont. S.C.J.)
(e) Discovery of Non-Parties
Ontario (Attorney General) v. Ballard Estate 1995 CanLII 3509 (Ont. C.A.)
Hopkins v. Robert Green Equipment Sales Ltd., 2018 ONSC 998 (Ont. S.C.J.)
(f) Expert Evidence
Bakalenikov v. Semkiw, 2010 ONSC 4928 (Ont. S.C.J.)
Singer v. LZW LLP, 2014 ONSC 4521 (Ont. S.C.J.)
Bruff-Murphy v. Gunawardena, 2017 ONCA 502 (Ont. C.A.)
(g) Medical Examination
Courts of Justice Act, Section 105(2)
Lovegrove v Rosenthal (1997), 16 C.P.C. (4th) 160; [1997] O.J. No. 5408 (Ont. Gen. Div.) [Available on Westlaw, Quicklaw, or in the law library.]
Lecture Notes 12 – Discovery (III)
March 7, 2024
VIII. SIMPLE MOTIONS
Background / reference reading (not required):
Jonathan D Kulathungam, Theresa Cesareo, Rules of Civil Procedure Chapters, Motions and Applications, Rule 37 – Motions – Jurisdiction and Procedure
Practice Directions re Toronto Region
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(a) Joinder and Consolidation
1014864 Ontario Ltd. v. 1721789 Ontario Inc., 2010 ONSC 3306 (Ont. S.C.J.)
Tanner v. McIlveen Estate, 2012 ONSC 2983 (Ont. S.C.J.)
Buhlman v. Peoples Ministries Inc., 2009 CanLII 26918 (Ont. S.C.J.)
Soilmec North America Inc. v. D’Elia, 2011 ONSC 5214 (Ont. S.C.J.)
(b) Determining a Point of Law
Gowling Lafleur Henderson v. Springer, 2013 ONSC 923 (Ont. S.C.J.)
(c) Dismissal for Delay
[Please note that there was a pause due to Covid which has recently been revised. See Notice to the Public and Legal Profession Resuming Administrative Dismissal Notices and Orders (28 Feb. 2024).]
Prescott v. Barbon, 2018 ONCA 504 (Ont. C.A.)
Piedrahita v. Costin, 2023 ONCA 404 (Ont. C.A.)
Lecture Notes 13 – Simple Motions
March 12, 2024
(d) Summary Judgment:
Background / reference reading (not required):
Honourable Coulter A. Osborne, Q.C., Summary of Finding and Recommendations of the Civil Justice Reform Project (November, 2007)
Robert A Centa, Tina H Lie, Sonia Patel, Rules of Civil Procedure Chapters, Disposition without Trial, Rule 20 – Summary Judgment
—
Hryniak v. Mauldin, 2014 SCC 7 (S.C.C.)
Maurice v. Alles, 2016 ONCA 287 (Ont. C.A.)
Butera v. Chown, Cairns LLP, 2017 ONCA 783 (Ont. C.A.)
Moffitt v. TD Canada Trust, 2023 ONCA 349 (Ont. C.A.)
Lecture Notes 14 – Rule 20 Motions
March 14, 2024
IX. EXTRA-ORDINARY MOTIONS
Background / reference reading (not required):
Jeff Berryman, Kiri McDermott-Berryman, Rules of Civil Procedure Chapters, Preservation of Rights in Pending Litigation, Rule 40 – Interlocutory Injunction or Mandatory Order
—
Courts of Justice Act, ss. 96(1), 101
Rule 40
RJR-MacDonald Inc. v. Canada (Attorney General), 1994 CanLII 117 (S.C.C.)
Lecture Notes 15 – Injunctive Relief and Extra-Ordinary Remedies
March 19, 2024
X. COSTS
Background / reference reading (not required):
Robert J Drake, Robert D Malen, Rules of Civil Procedure Chapters, Costs, Rule 57 – Costs of
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(a) Costs, Rule 49 and non-Rule 49 Offers
Reminder: please review the materials reviewed earlier in teh course and reviewed in Lecture Notes 2 – Introduction (II)
Law Society of Ontario Sample Long Form Litigation Cost Estimate (for explaining anticipated litigation fees to clients in a given matter)
Sample Costs Submissions & Bill of Costs
A “costs award” (just the latest award reported on CanLII as an example): Mettko v. Hauser, 2024 ONSC 1542 (Ont. S.C.J.).
Courts of Justice Act, Section 131
(b) Offer, Acceptance, Approval, Enforcement
Clark Agri Service Inc. v. 705680 Ontario Ltd., (1996), 2 C.P.C. (4th) 78 (Ont. Gen. Div.) [Available on Westlaw, Quicklaw, or in the law library.]
Centorame v. Centorame, 2012 ONSC 6405 (Ont. S.C.J.)
Wu Estate v. Zurich Insurance Co., 2006 CanLII 16344 (Ont. C.A.)
March 21 2024
XI. TRIAL AND APPEAL
(a) Trial
Background / reference reading (not required):
The Advocates Society – Best Practices for Civil Trials – June 2015
Andrew C. Murray, “It’s the First Day of Trial: What do I Do?”
Paul Perrell, “An Evidence Cheat Sheet”
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Juries Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. J.3
Cowles v. Balac, 2006 CanLII 34916 (Ont. C.A.)
McLean v. Knox, 2013 ONCA 357 (Ont.C.A.)
(b) Appeal
Brooke MacKenzie, Rules of Civil Procedure Chapters, Appeals, Rule 61 – Appeals to an Appellate Court
—
Courts of Justice Act, ss.132-134
Housen v. Nikolaisen, 2002 SCC 33 (S.C.C.)
Lazare v. Harvey, 2008 ONCA 171 (Ont. C.A.)
Gligorevic v. McMaster, 2012 ONCA 115 (Ont. C.A.)
Lecture Notes 17 – Trial & Appeal
March 26, 2024