Institutional Delay or the Heartache of Obtaining a Hearing Date
I was recently in the Brampton courthouse. I imagine that Brampton is one of the busiest courthouses in the Province. It serves the Regional Municipality of Peel, which includes Mississauga and Brampton. The courthouse is busy with both criminal and civil matters. While I was there, I heard requests over the loudspeaker for Polish, Punjabi, Vietnamese, Chinese, and Spanish interpreters.
For my part, I was scheduled to speak to a guardianship application, which was to be adjourned on terms. The problem I faced was securing a full day hearing date for the return of the application. My matter involves a widow, whose health is declining. She has been declared incapable of managing her property and making personal care decisions. The application was brought by the widow’s nieces (my clients) to be appointed co-guardians of property and personal care for their aunt. The application is hotly opposed by the attorney for property and personal care, who my clients believe was appointed under suspicious circumstances.
While the adjournment was granted, it was also crucial that I obtain a timely hearing date for the application. However, the presiding judge apologized and advised that the first available date was not until late September 2007. More than six months would pass before the application would be heard. Her Honour explained that the region was understaffed when it came to judicial resources and simply could not accommodate all matters despite their apparent urgency. Her Honour also indicated that criminal matters usually took precedence over civil matters, as the right of an accused to a fair hearing would be prejudiced by undue delay.
The bottom line is that parties intent on litigating, whether in the estate context or otherwise, should understand that institutional delay will often push their “day in court” well into the future. Justice delayed is justice denied. However, that is the reality that litigants face in today’s overburdened court system.
It is for this reason that many alternatives to litigation are frequently promoted. Mediation is a good example, as is binding arbitration in commercial litigation matters. A party should therefore carefully consider what options they have before necessarily assuming that a court hearing is their best course of action.
Enjoy!
Justin de Vries
