Conferences and Supreme Court Family Law Proceedings: Difference between revisions

This section discusses ''judicial case conferences'' (JCCs), the most common kind of conference held in the BC Supreme Court — and their uses and limitations. It also talks about ''case planning conferences'' (CPCs) — which are relatively new to BC Supreme Court (since September 2023) — ''trial management conferences (TMCs), and ''settlement conferences'', and provides tips about how you can get the most out of your time and the judge's time at these conferences.

The four types of case conference held in the BC Supreme Court are ''judicial case conferences'', ''case planning conferences, ''settlement conferences'', and ''trial management conferences''.

* '''Judicial Case Conferences''': JCCs are held early in a court proceeding (usually before any other applications can be made to the court), and are focused on settling any of the legal issues that can be agreed to, getting short-term arrangements for the support and parenting of children set up, and planning the next few steps in the proceeding. They are very important, and mandatory in the majority of cases.

* '''Case Planning Conferences''': CPCs were introduced in September 2023, and can be requested by a party or held at the direction of a judge. CPCs are supposed to help make complex litigation more efficient, however they are a fairly new development, and not at all a step. If one is scheduled, each party is required to file a ''case plan proposal'' which summarizes how they want to handle a range of issues such as discovery of documents, conducting examinations for discovery, any plans for obtaining views of a child, dispute resolution procedures, expert witnesses, witness lists, and trial type (e.g. a summary trial, or a regular trial).

* '''Settlement Conferences''': These conferences are held when both parties request them, or at the direction of a judge. Settlement conferences are aimed at trying to settle the legal issues in the court proceeding so that trial can be avoided.

Judicial case conferences, usually referred to as "JCCs," are relatively informal, off-the-record, private meetings between the parties, their lawyers, and a judge or associate judge in a courtroom, held under Rule 7-1 of the [https://canlii.ca/t/8mcr#sec7_1 Supreme Court Family Rules]. JCCs must be held in all ''contested'' family law court proceedings — cases where a Response to Family Claim has been filed — and, in most cases, they must be held before any interim applications can be heard. In fact, Rule 7-1(2) says that "a party to the family law case must not serve on another party a notice of application or an affidavit in support" in support of an application until a JCC has been heard.

'''Note:''' The BC Supreme Court places a lot of emphasis on JCCS. There is an [https://www.bccourts.ca/supreme_court/practice_and_procedure/practice_directions/family/FPD%20-%2012%20-%20Judicial%20Case%20Conferences%20-%20Litigants'%20Guide%20to%20Judicial%20Case%20Conferences.pdf official JCC guide for litigants] published and updated on the BC Supreme Court website, which is quite helpful. The guide includes information about the process, and about the ''case management plan'' that results at the conclusion of the JCC.

The court's powers at JCCs are set out at Rule 7-1 and are very broad:

The highlights of the powers provided by Rule 7-1(15) are these. The judge or associate judge can:

A case planning conference (CPC) is a fairly new (as of September 2023) procedural step that can be scheduled any time after a JCC has been held. It offers a more hands-on opportunity for the court to guide the progress of a family law case. A CPC can be scheduled by a party obtaining a date from the registry, filing a Form F19.2 Notice of Case Planning Conference, and serving it on the other party. Also, the court may direct that a CPC take place at any time after a JCC has occurred.  

Settlement conferences are available in the BC Supreme Court at the request of both parties. The rules do not require that a settlement conference be held in every court proceeding, but a judge or associate judge can order that one be held. They are relatively informal meetings between the parties, their lawyers, and a associate judge or judge held pursuant to Rule 7-2 of the [https://canlii.ca/t/8mcr#sec7_2 Supreme Court Family Rules]. They are solely concerned with finding a way to settle the court proceeding.

Settlement conferences, like JCCs, are private and are held in courtrooms that are closed to the public. Only the parties and their lawyers are allowed to attend the conference, unless the parties and the judge all agree that someone else can be present. They are held on a confidential, off-the-record basis, so that nothing said in the conference can be used against anyone later on, like at an application or at trial.

====Briefs, Financial Statements and other preparations====

Updated financial information should be exchanged between the parties before a settlement conference. If the updates are extensive and significant it is helpful to update and exchange sworn Financial Statements as well. If new Financial Statements are prepared, they should also be filed in court in advance of the settlement conference so that the judge or associate judge has a chance to read through it. 

It is common practice for parties to exchange briefs prior to a settlement conference. In fact, a judge or associate judge who directs the parties to attend a conference may direct that briefs, and possibly fresh Financial Statements, be exchanged beforehand. Briefs are very useful in the context of settlement conferences. They:

#force the parties and their lawyers to really think about the legal issues and the facts that relate to those issues, about the orders they want the court to make, and how the law does and doesn't support the court making those orders;

#can help to persuade another party that the party filing the brief has a good argument and may, in fact, be right or at least more likely to succeed at trial; and,

#give the presiding judge or associate judge a really good overview of the legal issues and the relevant law, that they may be able to use when trying to help the parties settle their dispute.

There is no specific form of settlement conference brief, but the following information is usually really helpful:

*'''Key facts and dates:''' Dates of cohabitation, marriage, separation and divorce, birthdates of parties and children, and other significant dates, including the dates of things like the purchase and sale of a house, moves, changes in employment or education, and important financial transactions such as inheritances, loans, and purchases.

*'''List of legal issues:''' Include the issues to be resolved and a description of your position about each one.

*'''List of key documents:''' A list of the documents and other evidence you're relying on in support of your position, for example, expert reports, marriage agreements, employment contracts, loan documents, wills, and so forth. You may want to attach copies of any important documents to your settlement conference brief, or bring an extra copy to the settlement conference in case the judge or associate judge, or another party, doesn’t have theirs.

*'''Key statute and case law:''' Copies of the legislation and case law that you're relying on in support of your position.

At the settlement conference, each party will have a turn to tell the judge or associate judge their version of the facts and why they want the orders that they want. The judge or associate judge will listen and ask questions and explore settlement options. The judge or associate judge may even provide opinions about the likely outcome of the case if it goes to trial based upon the their experience in other cases and what the judge or associate judge knows about the case.

Also like JCCs, settlement conferences work best when both parties come prepared and have made full disclosure of all the documents they're relying on. In general, the more information that is exchanged before the settlement conference the better. Being prepared also means having a realistic view of the strengths and weaknesses of the evidence that you have to prove your case, and the strengths and weaknesses of the legal arguments you are trying to advance. If you don't have a lawyer with you at the settlement conference, it can be a good idea to speak with one beforehand for a legal opinion about your case and its strengths and weaknesses. It's also helpful to have a sense of the likely cost of taking the matter to trial if you can’t settle it at the settlement conference.

 

====Scheduling a settlement conference====

To set a date for a settlement conference, you will need to contact the court registry and get the available settlement conference dates. You'll then need to talk to the other parties to select a date on which everyone is available.

Once you have an agreeable date, call the registry and tell them which date you've picked. You will then need to fill out and file a Requisition in Form F17 reserving the date. There is no filing fee charged to schedule a settlement conference. You must then serve a copy of your filed Requisition on the other side by ordinary service.

Trial management conferences (TMCs), as the name suggests, are designed to make sure the parties are ready to go to trial. More information about trial management conferences can be found in this chapter, in the section [[Family Law Trials in Supreme Court]].

The parties are normally required to attend the TMC in person, unless they have a lawyer and are available by telephone to speak with their lawyer in the event instructions are needed during the conference.  

* [http://www.courts.gov.bc.ca/supreme_court/practice_and_procedure/family_law_orders/Trial_Management_Conference_Order_Picklist.pdf Trial Management Conference Order Picklist] from BC Supreme Court's website