Canadian Lawyer

Effective triaging The one-case-one-judge court model was considered and strongly recommended in the final report of the Family Justice Working Group, one of four working groups of the Action Committee on Access to Justice in Civil and Family Matters. This model is complicated in its application in family law matters because of the absence of a unified family court. Ontario's Superior Court already provides a form of triaging. Some reasonable and early assessment of actions coming into the system must be part of the process. There may well be cases in which judicial expertise would lead to a more efficient resolution of the dispute in question. Without effective triaging, matching judicial expertise to a particular case will not be possible. I acknowledge there can and will be circumstances where, for a variety of reasons, the "trial judge" should not become involved in a particular interlocutory mat- 2013-2014 ALBERTA LEGAL TELEPHONE DIRECTORY Alberta Legal Telephone Directory is all about your legal community connecting you to the lawyers and law offices you need in Alberta, Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Yukon. Published annually for over 30 years, it keeps you connected with new and updated names, mailing addresses, email addresses, phone numbers and fax numbers each year. Searching is easy with: and law firms Also quickly and easily access: One time purchase $41* On subscription $41* L88804-624 (*Plus applicable taxes) … and more. Durable spiralbound format saves on wear and tear of everyday usage! 2013-2014 Alberta Legal Telephone Directory – the right connections made easy. Order your copy today. Visit www.carswell.com or call 1-800-387-5164 for a 30-day, no risk evaluation 44 ntitled-6 1 august 2013 www.CANADIAN ter. In such circumstances, which I regard as exceptions, alternative arrangements will have to be made. Unless the parties consent, the designated trial judge should not be the pre-trial judge. I see nothing wrong with the trial judge exercising an increased managerial function after hearing from counsel (or a selfrepresented litigant). This could include imposing time limits on examination in chief, cross examination, and submissions. In any case, the earlier the judge giving directions is designated as the trial judge, the more efficient the directions will be. I am confident imposing time limits restricting the length of submissions, if done reasonably and after hearing from the parties or their representatives, will not attract appellate intervention. When the number of cases is decreasing but delays are increasing, remedial action is required. Summary judgments No comment on the civil justice system would be complete without some reference to summary judgment. Any efficient civil justice system must provide exit remedies for those cases where there is no genuine issue requiring a trial. This is an access to justice issue not only for plaintiffs, but also for defendants. The practical problem in Toronto is it takes too long to schedule and hear summary judgment motions. Too many summary judgment motions and too few judges to hear them provide a recipe for gridlock. A redeployment of judges is urgently needed to resolve the problem. To conclude, it seems clear doing nothing about the existing delays will only exacerbate the problem. It remains to be determined what, if any, steps will be taken by the court to alleviate the systemic delay in the Superior Court. As Dennis O'Connor said in his keynote address in 2006 at the Canadian Forum on Civil Justice, "the market is sending us clear messages. The challenge is to listen." That was true in September 2006 and it is true now. Coulter A. Osborne is a former associate chief justice of Ontario who has been engaged in alternative dispute resolution since retiring from the bench in 2001. In 2006, he conducted an inquiry into the province's civil justice system; his principal recommendations were accepted by the government and incorporated into Civil Rule changes in January 2010. L a w ye r m a g . c o m 13-07-12 10:36 AM

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