ELUC Meeting Minutes - March 24, 2021

ESTATES LIST USERS COMMITTEE

1. Approval of January 20, 2021 Meeting Minutes

Minutes of prior meeting were reviewed and approved with a small punctuation change.

2. Matters Arising Since the Last Meeting

Update from the Judiciary: the last scheduling blitz was very successful in eliminating the backlog that had built up prior to the court’s transition to online hearings. However, the delay in obtaining hearing dates has returned and new hearing dates there is around a two month waiting time for dates (appointments are currently being booked for May and June).

The court office will look into a number of options for dealing with the scheduling backlog.  The Honourable Justice Pattillo is joining the Estates List as supernumerary Judge on April 1^st, which may help alleviate some of the backlog but will not solve the problem. 

While the court’s transition to virtual hearings is complete, the courts are extremely busy. As a result, it is incumbent on the Bar do what they can to resolve matters, especially procedural matters like timetables, without booking court time.  For orders dealing with procedural issues which are moving forward on consent (i.e. timetables), counsel may file the consent orders via email for a judge to issue over-the-counter. 

The expectation from the Judiciary is that the rest of this year is going to be very challenging and that the Bar needs to be really thoughtful about what needs to be scheduled.  The Judiciary is limiting the number of judicial mediations being booked for the time being so that resources may remain available for contested matters. The Judiciary is also limiting the number of full-day motions per week for now until the demand on resources is lessened.

Scheduling Motions: there has been some confusion about booking scheduling appointments and the time needed for each appointment. Because the hearings are proceeding by Zoom, counsel have been asked to book a minimum of 15 minutes for each appointment. Counsel mentioned that other jurisdictions are having a registrar manage a Zoom “waiting room” which allows consent matters to be heard first, increasing overall efficiency. The court office will consider this option and welcomes any other suggestions. 

Trials: Currently being booked for late-2021 or early-2022, which is reasonable considering the constraints of the pandemic.

Transition to CaseLines: materials for all contested matters should now be filed through CaseLines.  The court is still working out how to deal with ex-parte matters, orders seeking assistance and orders for directions.  Those types of proceedings have not yet migrated to CaseLines.  All other matters, even if they were started in Sync, should be migrated to CaseLines.  Counsel will receive a link to upload their documents.  Instructions for how to do so can also be found at the following links: