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  • Legal aid settlement conference

    The mother of our child is on legal aid.

    Both parties at the last settlement conference agreed that we would be willing to have a legal aid settlement conference before our next court appearance early next month.

    Any thoughts on what happens at one of these and how it affects the next court date if an agreement cannot be hammered out?

    Is there a chance of settling on a few points of contention and not the whole thing?

    Thanks for any input

  • #2
    Useless. Generally the mediator is supplied by LAO and looking for the best outcome for the LAO client. Also, its a signal often that the LAO certificate is about to run out of cash. So, if you do go... Go unrepresented, spend as much time as you can asking all sorts of things and just waste time and burn the LAO certificate into the ground.

    Comment


    • #3
      Thank you very much!

      Very appreciated!

      Comment


      • #4
        Ended out going and worked out well as he pounded the other side relentlessly and we all agreed to EOW and a midweek block of time for parenting time!

        Going into a court order and then we meet again in a few months!

        Finally get sleepover and the first has already happened!!!!!

        Comment


        • #5
          So I am now at EOW and Thursday nights for 3 hours.

          We just completed another LAO settlement conference which was very unproductive.

          I want to increase access, ideally up to 50/50 but at least more than current.

          We go into court this month and we have another SC.

          The Judge is really pressing me to settle as was the LA mediator and ironically my lawyer too.

          Can I simply push for a trial because I am not going to settle with the access that I currently have?

          I obviously am going to get a new lawyer as well.

          What is my worst case scenerio with not settling at this point pls too?

          Thanks for any thoughts

          Comment


          • #6
            Have you offered graduated access?

            Comment


            • #7
              Worst case scenario is that you get what you already have EOW and you get cost awards against you.

              What is your currrent status with the children? Are you very implicated? At home? With School? With extracurricular activities? With appointment? Do you have a form 35.1 on Request for custody and access formerly and fully filed with the court that shows your plan with the children?

              Try to find the lawyer that will suit your needs as fast as possible so he has time to serve all the parties with the new representation and advice the Court Registar.

              Comment


              • #8
                I have offered graduted access previously in my OTS,and I even scaled it up over 2 years ( when child is 7 )

                The child lives with his mom and he spends weekends with me ( alternate). She has " custody" and it has been a very long time in court as she has called the police multiple times ( nothing ever hapened except the police not believing her lies) and i have been fighting her silver bullet strategy and finally got EOW ( started this June) and its going incredible and he wants to spend more time with me.

                Thats a good worse case sceneriobut I obviously want more time, and she drops the child off at multiple locations, ie friends , family friends, and others when I am perfectly able and willig and want to have him as a first right of refusal.

                Thanks very much!

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                • #9
                  I can still push towards a trial, no ?

                  If I do not accept the current offer, then what happens after this months SC ?

                  As in next steps please ?

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                  • #10
                    Next step after the SC, unless there is still an item pending which could be heard at a motion, would be the trial.

                    At the end of the SC, if there is still no settlement, the judge should indicate if this can or should be resolute by way of a trial. If this is the case, he would normally direct your case on the Court Lists and request each party to file in a collaborative way the Trial Scheduling Endorsement Form by XX date.

                    Once this is done, the Court Registar will communicate the date of the trial and a Trial Conference will be held like 2 weeks before the actual trial. This is to see if there is still a potential of agreeing as a last resort.

                    Trials are held mostly 3 times a year; in January-February, May-June and Sept-Oct. Once you are on the Court Lists, allow at least 2-3 rounds before hoping to get a call from the Court Registar as they are way behind with the pandemic situation.

                    As I went through this as being self-represented at Trial in the Superior Court of Ottawa and the Appeal Court in Toronto, feel free to ask for more details concerning the process and the required documentation.

                    Best of luck with this.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Thank you very much 007, very appreciated!!!

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by mafia007 View Post
                        Next step after the SC, unless there is still an item pending which could be heard at a motion, would be the trial.



                        At the end of the SC, if there is still no settlement, the judge should indicate if this can or should be resolute by way of a trial. If this is the case, he would normally direct your case on the Court Lists and request each party to file in a collaborative way the Trial Scheduling Endorsement Form by XX date.



                        Once this is done, the Court Registar will communicate the date of the trial and a Trial Conference will be held like 2 weeks before the actual trial. This is to see if there is still a potential of agreeing as a last resort.



                        Trials are held mostly 3 times a year; in January-February, May-June and Sept-Oct. Once you are on the Court Lists, allow at least 2-3 rounds before hoping to get a call from the Court Registar as they are way behind with the pandemic situation.



                        As I went through this as being self-represented at Trial in the Superior Court of Ottawa and the Appeal Court in Toronto, feel free to ask for more details concerning the process and the required documentation.



                        Best of luck with this.
                        When can a settlement conference (SC) be requested. I have a cross motion that I am awaiting the decision. Can SC be requested now or do I have wait for the decision? Also, the other party has 2 claims on their answer form, they have not requested a motion for this claims. I opposed both claims in my reply.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by 416excouple View Post
                          When can a settlement conference (SC) be requested. I have a cross motion that I am awaiting the decision. Can SC be requested now or do I have wait for the decision? Also, the other party has 2 claims on their answer form, they have not requested a motion for this claims. I opposed both claims in my reply.
                          You can request a SC at anytime when motions are not bringing solutions to your case. This has to keep moving forward. I remember in my case a judge having to call a SC at a motion when she realized that our multiple motions on access and custody were not going anywhere. Does your cross motion that you are awaiting a decision should be a show stopper to move forward? I don't think so. You won't get a date for a SC until the next 3-4 months so by the time, you'll get a decision and you will be ready to complete your SC brief. Worst case, you could only add that you are still awaiting a decision from a cross-motion that could have an impact on other matters still being addressed if needed.

                          Don't worry with the other claims the other party has on their answer form. It was up to them to move them forward. That is not your problem. If they know you were opposing them, it is greatly possible that they decided to drop them as it would cost to much to challenge them at court. Concentrate on your side with your claims. I had about 8 claims on my request for a motion to change and it went down to 3 after the SC. Now, even though the Trial Scheduling Endorsement Form was filed, another issue was just resolved bringing it to only 2 issues for the trial. You see, as it move forward and gets closer to trial, the other party feels the pressure to resolve the issues that would be hard to debate in court. Remember that costs could be awarded against an unreasonable litigant.

                          Move your case forward. Next step, get a date for a SC and serve and file those documents. Then work on your SC brief on your pending claims only. Do not bother on the other party's pending claims. If they don't bring it up, it's dead.
                          Last edited by mafia007; 12-15-2021, 10:48 AM.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by mafia007 View Post
                            You can request a SC at anytime when motions are not bringing solutions to your case. This has to keep moving forward. I remember in my case a judge having to call a SC at a motion when she realized that our multiple motions on access and custody were not going anywhere. Does your cross motion that you are awaiting a decision should be a show stopper to move forward? I don't think so. You won't get a date for a SC until the next 3-4 months so by the time, you'll get a decision and you will be ready to complete your SC brief. Worst case, you could only add that you are still awaiting a decision from a cross-motion that could have an impact on other matters still being addressed if needed.



                            Don't worry with the other claims the other party has on their answer form. It was up to them to move them forward. That is not your problem. If they know you were opposing them, it is greatly possible that they decided to drop them as it would cost to much to challenge them at court. Concentrate on your side with your claims. I had about 8 claims on my request for a motion to change and it went down to 3 after the SC. Now, even though the Trial Scheduling Endorsement Form was filed, another issue was just resolved bringing it to only 2 issues for the trial. You see, at it move forward and get closer to trial, the other party feels the pressure to resolve the issues that would be hard to debate in court. Remember that costs could be awarded against an unreasonable litigant.



                            Move your case forward. Next step, get a date for a SC and serve and file those documents. Then work on your SC brief on your pending claims only. Do not bother on the other party's pending claims. If they don't bring it up, it's dead.
                            Thank you so much for this.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              You know the process on how to get a SC date? You must seek at least three next SC dates with the registrar and propose those dates to the other party. They should then choose one of those date in 24-48 hours or less.

                              Comment

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