ontario regulation 10/25

made under the

Courts of Justice Act

Made: December 3, 2024
Approved: January 21, 2025
Filed: January 22, 2025
Published on e-Laws: January 22, 2025
Published in The Ontario Gazette: February 8, 2025

Amending O. Reg. 114/99

(FAMILY LAW RULES)

1. Clause 14 (11) (c) of Ontario Regulation 114/99 is revoked and the following substituted:

(c)  confer or make best efforts to confer orally or in writing with every other party about the issues that are in dispute in the motion, unless the party is prohibited from such communication by a court order or there is a risk of domestic violence by a party who is not represented by a lawyer;

2. Subrule 17 (18) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “subrule 24 (10)” in the portion before clause (a) and substituting “subrule 24 (1)”.

3. (1) Rule 18 of the Regulation is amended by adding the following subrule:

Costs consequences

(12.1) The making, withdrawal, acceptance and rejection of offers are subject to the costs consequences provided for under rule 24.

(2) Subrules 18 (14) to (16) of the Regulation are revoked.

4. Rule 24 of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

RULE 24: COSTS

Costs

Deciding costs

24. (1) Promptly after dealing with a step in a case, the court shall, in a summary manner,

(a)  determine who, if anyone, is entitled to costs in relation to that step and set the amount of any costs; or

(b)  expressly reserve the decision on costs for determination at a later step in the case.

Same

(2) The failure of the court to act under subrule (1) in relation to a step in a case does not prevent the court from awarding costs in relation to the step at a later step in the case.

Entitlement to costs, presumption

(3) Except as otherwise provided in this rule, there is a presumption that a successful party is entitled to the costs of a step in a case.

Divided success

(4) If success in a step in a case is divided, the court may apportion costs as appropriate.

Child protection cases

(5) Subrule (3) does not apply in a child protection case.

Government agency as party

(6) The court has discretion to award costs to or against a party that is a government agency, whether that party is successful or unsuccessful.

Unreasonable behaviour by successful party

(7) A successful party who has behaved unreasonably during a step in a case may be deprived of all or part of the party’s own costs or ordered to pay all or part of the unsuccessful party’s costs.

Same

(8) In deciding whether a successful party has behaved unreasonably, the court may consider,

(a)  the party’s behaviour in relation to the issues from the time they arose, including whether the party made an offer to settle;

(b)  the reasonableness of any offer the party made; and

(c)  any offer the party withdrew or did not accept.

Absent or unprepared party

(9) If a party is required to appear at a step in the case but does not do so, or appears but is not properly prepared to deal with the issues at the step or otherwise contributes to the step being unproductive, the court shall award costs against the party unless the court orders otherwise in the interests of justice.

Bad faith

(10) If a party has acted in bad faith, the court shall decide costs on a full recovery basis and shall order the party to pay them immediately.

Lawyer or other representative at fault

(11) If a party’s lawyer or other representative has run up costs related to a step in a case without reasonable cause or has wasted costs, the court may, on motion or on its own initiative after giving the lawyer or representative an opportunity to be heard, make one or more of the following orders:

1.  That the lawyer or representative shall not charge client fees or disbursements for work specified in the order.

2.  That the lawyer or representative must repay any money that the party has already paid toward costs.

3.  That the lawyer or representative must repay the party any costs that the party has been ordered to pay another party.

4.  That the lawyer or representative must personally pay the costs of any party.

5.  That a copy of the order be given to the party.

Failure to accept offer

(12) A party who makes an offer in relation to a step in a case is, unless the court orders otherwise, entitled to costs to the date the offer was served and full recovery of costs from that date to the conclusion of the step, if the following conditions are met:

1.  If the offer relates to a motion, it is made at least one day before the motion date.

2.  If the offer relates to a trial or the hearing of a step other than a motion, it is made at least seven days before the trial or hearing date.

3.  The offer does not expire and is not withdrawn before the hearing starts.

4.  The offer is not accepted.

5.  The party who made the offer obtains an order that is as good as or better than the offer.

Same, burden of proof

(13) The burden of proof that the order is as good as or better than the offer to settle is on the party who claims the benefit of subrule (12).

Setting costs amounts

(14) In setting the amount of costs in relation to a step in a case, the court may consider,

(a)  the reasonableness and proportionality of the following factors, as applicable, as they relate to the importance and complexity of the issues in the step:

(i)  Each party’s behaviour.

(ii)  The time spent by each party.

(iii)  Any written offers to settle, including offers that do not meet the conditions set out in subrule (12) or the requirements of rule 18.

(iv)  Any legal fees, including the number of lawyers and their rates.

(v)  Any expert witness fees, including the number of experts and their rates.

(vi)  Any other expenses properly paid or payable; and

(b)  any other relevant matter.

Supporting materials

(15) Any claim for costs respecting fees or expenses shall be supported by documentation satisfactory to the court.

Same, opposing party

(16) A party who opposes a claim for costs respecting fees or expenses shall provide documentation showing the party’s own fees and expenses to the court and to the other party.

Requirement for parties to confer

(17) Before each step in a case, each party shall confer or make best efforts to confer orally or in writing with every other party with a view to settling costs, including the amount of costs, unless the party is prohibited from such communication by a court order or there is a risk of domestic violence by a party who is not represented by a lawyer.

Requirement for parties to prepare submissions

(18) For the purposes of subrule (1), each party shall, for each step in a case, be ready to,

(a)  make an oral submission as to costs in relation to that step; and

(b)  provide the court with the documentation required by subrules (15) and (16) as applicable.

If court requires written submissions

(19) If the court requires the parties to provide written submissions on costs with respect to a step in the case, the following rules apply, unless the court orders otherwise:

1.  Each party shall serve and file a written submission on costs no later than 15 days after the court requires the written submissions.

2.  A party may serve and file a responding written submission on costs, no later than 30 days after the court requires the written submissions.

3.  A written submission shall be no longer than three pages or, if it relates to costs of a trial, five pages, not including the documentation required by subrules (15) and (16).

4.  A written submission shall be typed or written legibly, with double spaces between the lines and characters of at least 12 point size, not including the documentation required by subrules (15) and (16).

Order for security for costs

(20) A judge may, on motion, make an order for security for costs that is just, based on one or more of the following factors:

1.  A party habitually resides outside Ontario.

2.  A party has an order against the other party for costs that remains unpaid, in the same case or another case.

3.  A party is a corporation and there is good reason to believe it does not have enough assets in Ontario to pay costs.

4.  There is good reason to believe that the case is a waste of time, a nuisance or an abuse of the court process, and that the party does not have enough assets in Ontario to pay costs.

5.  A statute entitles the party to security for costs.

Amount and form of security

(21) The judge shall determine the amount of the security, its form and the method of giving it.

Effect of order for security

(22) Until the security has been given, a party against whom there is an order for security for costs may not take any step in the case, except to appeal from the order, unless the judge orders otherwise.

Failure to give security

(23) If the party does not give the security as ordered and, as a result, the judge makes an order dismissing the party’s case or striking out the party’s answer or any other document filed by the party, subrule (22) no longer applies.

Security may be changed

(24) The amount of the security, its form and the method of giving it may be changed by order at any time.

Payment to carry on case

(25) The court may make an order that a party pay an amount of money to another party to cover part or all of the expenses of carrying on the case, including a lawyer’s fees.

5. Clause 38 (26) (b) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “subrule 24 (13)” and substituting “subrule 24 (20)”.

6. The rows for Forms 14C and 17F in the Table of Forms to the Regulation are amended by striking out “September 1, 2023” in the column titled “Date of Form” and substituting “September 24, 2024”.

Commencement

7. This Regulation comes into force on the day it is filed.

Made by:
Pris par :

Family Rules Committee:
Le Comité des règles en matière de droit de la famille :

Helena Likwornik

Secretary of the rules committee

Date made: December 3, 2024
Pris le : 3 décembre 2024

I approve this Regulation.
J’approuve le présent règlement.

Le procureur général,

Doug Downey

Attorney General

Date approved: January 21, 2025
Approuvé le : 21 janvier 2025