Conferences and Supreme Court Family Law Proceedings: Difference between revisions
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{{JP Boyd on Family Law TOC|expanded = bcsc}}{{JPBOFL Editor Badge | {{JP Boyd on Family Law TOC|expanded = bcsc}}{{JPBOFL Editor Badge | ||
| | |CoAuthor = [[Iris Turaglio]] | ||
}}Case conferences are meetings between the parties to a court proceeding, their lawyers (if they have them), and a judge, usually for purposes relating to the management or settlement of the court proceeding. | }}Case conferences are meetings between the parties to a court proceeding, their lawyers (if they have them), and a judge, usually for purposes relating to the management or settlement of the court proceeding. | ||
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All case conferences are recorded by the court, but recordings are not made available to anyone, and are not allowed to be used by anyone without a court order. | All case conferences are recorded by the court, but recordings are not made available to anyone, and are not allowed to be used by anyone without a court order. | ||
==Conferences in the Supreme Court== | ==Conferences in the BC Supreme Court== | ||
The four types of case conference held in the Supreme Court are ''judicial case conferences'', ''case planning conferences, ''settlement conferences'', and ''trial management 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. | * '''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. | * '''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 | * '''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. | ||
* '''Trial Management Conferences''': TMCs are only mandatory when 15 or more trial days are booked, where one party won't have a lawyer representing them, or for cases involving ''Divorce Act'' claims where a party wants evidence to be dealt with in French. They are held | * '''Trial Management Conferences''': TMCs are only mandatory when 15 or more trial days are booked, where one party won't have a lawyer representing them, or for cases involving ''Divorce Act'' claims where a party wants evidence to be dealt with in French. They are held closer to the end of the litigation process, and are focused on making sure that all of the parties are ready to go to trial. | ||
===Judicial case conferences=== | ===Judicial case conferences=== | ||
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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. | 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. | ||
Under Rule 7-1(10) and (11), the parties must exchange Financial Statements in Form F8 before the JCC. (The Financial Statements must also be filed in court, in <span class="noglossary">advance</span> of the JCC, to give the judge the chance to read through them first.) More information about Financial Statements is provided in this chapter in the [[Disclosure and Discovery in Supreme Court Family Law Proceedings|Disclosure and Discovery]] section. | Under Rule 7-1(10) and (11), the parties must exchange Financial Statements in Form F8 before the JCC. (The Form F8 Financial Statements must also be filed in court, in <span class="noglossary">advance</span> of the JCC, to give the judge the chance to read through them first.) More information about Form F8 Financial Statements is provided in this chapter in the [[Disclosure and Discovery in Supreme Court Family Law Proceedings|Disclosure and Discovery]] section. | ||
In general, the more information that is exchanged before the JCC the better. People who are well informed about the facts of their case and who have had the opportunity to get legal advice in advance of the JCC are much more likely to reach a settlement at their JCC, and save the time, expense, stress, and uncertainty of continuing the court proceeding. | In general, the more information that is exchanged before the JCC the better. People who are well informed about the facts of their case and who have had the opportunity to get legal advice in advance of the JCC are much more likely to reach a settlement at their JCC, and save the time, expense, stress, and uncertainty of continuing the court proceeding. | ||
'''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 purposes of judicial case conferences==== | ====The purposes of judicial case conferences==== | ||
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#schedule another JCC, which gives the parties the benefit of a continuing non-adversarial process. | #schedule another JCC, which gives the parties the benefit of a continuing non-adversarial process. | ||
The bit about non-binding opinions is especially important. | The bit about non-binding opinions is especially important. From a lawyer's perspective, if their client won't listen to their advice about the likely outcome of an application or a claim, the client usually listens to the judge or associate judge! | ||
Even if nothing can be agreed upon, however, the judge or associate judge will usually make a series of orders about the next procedural steps in the litigation. This is very helpful as well, and usually helps to push the court proceeding down the road toward trial. Typically, orders about procedural steps include: | Even if nothing can be agreed upon, however, the judge or associate judge will usually make a series of orders about the next procedural steps in the litigation. This is very helpful as well, and usually helps to push the court proceeding down the road toward trial. Typically, orders about procedural steps include: | ||
