Settlement Conferences and Trial Management Conferences in Ontario

If your family case is heading toward trial, you will likely be told to prepare for a settlement conference and a trial management conference. The names sound similar, but they do different jobs.

This article explains how the two differ, what you generally prepare for each, and how offers to settle connect to costs. Practice can vary by court and region, so check the instructions you receive from the court office.

Where these conferences fit

In every case in which an answer is filed, a judge must hold at least one conference. Required steps usually include the Mandatory Information Program (MIP), a case conference, a settlement conference and a trial management conference.

In plain terms, the settlement conference is the point where a judge helps the parties see whether the case can be resolved without a trial. The trial management conference comes later and focuses on getting the case ready if it will be heard.

The settlement conference

Conference briefs are limited to 12 pages for a settlement conference. Because the page limit is short, focus on the issues still in dispute, your position on each and the documents that support it.

Offers are a central tool at this stage. An offer must be signed personally by the party making it and by their licensed representative. The party who made an offer may withdraw it by serving a notice of withdrawal at any time before it is accepted. The only valid way to accept an offer is to serve an acceptance on the party who made it.

You can speak candidly about settlement without worrying that the trial judge is reading your offers. Except at a binding judicial dispute resolution (JDR) hearing, the judge sees the parties' offers only after deciding the issues.

The trial management conference

Before trial, each party files Form 17E (Trial Management Conference Brief) for the trial management conference. Once the court sets a trial date, the parties are expected to go ahead, and adjournments are allowed only in exceptional circumstances.

This is the time to sort out practical trial details, including how long the trial may take. A trial may take less than a day, several days or weeks. A judge may order that most or all of a witness's evidence be given by affidavit.

• The applicant must serve the trial record at least 20 calendar days before the trial starts.
• A respondent who adds documents must serve and file them at least 7 calendar days before the trial.
• A party who summons a witness with Form 23 must pay the witness for every day the witness is required in court.

How the two conferences compare

Offers, costs and what to do next

There is a presumption that a successful party is entitled to the costs of a step in a case. A party who made an offer is entitled to costs up to the date the offer was served, and full recovery of costs from that date, if all the listed conditions apply. These include that, for a trial or other hearing, the offer was made at least 7 days before the hearing date, it was not accepted, and the party obtained an order as good as or better than the offer. The party claiming this benefit has the burden of proving that the order is as good as or better than the offer.

• Confirm the dates for each conference and the brief deadlines with the court office.
• Keep your brief short and focused on what is still in dispute.
• Consider making a written offer early, properly signed, and keep a copy.
• Confer with the other side about costs before each step, unless an order prohibits it or there is a risk of domestic violence.
• Speak with a lawyer about whether an offer is likely to carry costs consequences.

Frequently asked questions