Monday, April 30, 2018

Does a Client Have the Right to the Undivided Loyalty of his Lawyer in a JR of Removal from Office Case ?


                                                                  Court of Appeal File No.M49113
                                                                  Divisional Court File No. 316/15
                                                                                                           

COURT OF APPEAL FOR ONTARIO



ERROL MASSIAH
Applicant/Moving Party

-and-


THE JUSTICES OF THE PECE RVIEW COUNCIL and THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR BY AND WITH THE ADVICE AND CONCURRENCE OF THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY FOR THE PROVINCE OF ONTARIO and THE ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR ONTARIO
Respondents

- and –

RAJ ANAND and WEIR FOULDS LLP

Intervenors

 NOTICE OF MOTION FOR LEAVE TO APPEAL

          THE MOVING PARTY, Errol Massiah, will make a motion to the Court of Appeal for Ontario for leave to appeal the decision of the Divisional Court dated April 9th, 2018.

                   PROPOSED METHOD OF HEARING is in writing 36 days after service of the moving party’s motion record, factum and transcripts, if any, or on the filing of the moving party’s reply factum, if any, whichever is earlier, at Osgoode Hall, 130 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario, M5H 2N5, pursuant to rule 61.03.1(1) of the Rules of Civil Procedure.

                   The Motion is for:

1.      An order granting the moving party leave to appeal to the Court of Appeal for Ontario from the decision of the Divisional Court dated April 9th, 2018;

2.      His costs; and

3.      Such further and other relief as counsel may advise and this Honourable Court permit.

                   THE GROUNDS FOR THIS MOTION ARE:

(1) The Original Decisions:

1.      By Order dated October 4th, 2016, the Divisional Court dismissed an application for judicial review brought by the Applicant seeking to quash the decision, penalty, compensation decision, Order-in-Council and all interlocutory decisions of a Hearing Panel of the Justices of the Peace Review Council which recommended the Applicant’s removal as a Justice of the Peace.  Leave to appeal that decision was sought at the Ontario Court of Appeal and that motion was denied.

2.      Throughout those proceedings (judicial review and leave to appeal motion) the Applicant was represented by the Intervenors.

3.      Following the dismissal of the proceedings, the Applicant sought the advice of other counsel regarding what he considered a most unjust result in the circumstances.  At that time it was discovered that the intervenors had been quite ineffective on a number of fundamental points of law and indeed had a conflict of interest in their representation of the Applicant which deprived him of natural justice and to a fair and impartial adjudication of his right to have the Divisional Court supervise the Justices of the Peace Review Council Hearing Panel’s exercise of their statutory power of decision under the Judicial Review Procedures Act.

4.      Following the dismissal of the proceedings, the Applicant learned that Presenting Counsel’s spouse in the proceedings before the Justices of the Peace Review Council Hearing Panel was a law partner of the complainant, Mr. Doug Hunt, in the hearing she acted as Presenting Counsel in which resulted in his removal.   Standing alone this may not raise concerns of fairness.  However, Presenting Counsel was expressly asked in writing who the complainant was in the case and she advised in writing that it was the witnesses who she  would call the hearing.  Relying on this representation the Applicant asked every witness whether they had any intention to complain about him and they all answered in the negative with the Hearing Panel making a finding that this point was not relevant because Mr. Hunt was the complainant.

5.      Remarkably, the hearing proceeded to a finding of liability without the Applicant knowing who the complainant was.  In addition, although seeking the advice of Independent Counsel who specifically advised them in his opinion that it was a “complaint” which the Justices of the Peace Act authorized them to adjudicate they proceeded to adjudicate the counts on Presenting Counsel’s Notice of Hearing.

6.      A motion and Notice of Constitutional Question was brought before a three member panel of the Divisional Court seeking to set aside the decision of the Divisional Court as a miscarriage of justice citing the following sources of jurisdiction: s.6(1) and 10 of the Judicial Review Procedures Act and s.20(d) of the Statutory Power Procedures Act, s.51(1) of the Constitution Act, 1982 and Rule 59.06(1) and 59.06(2)(a)(b) of the Rules of Civil Procedure.

April 9th, 2018
Divisional Court
Decision:

7.      On April 9th, 2018 a panel of the Divisional Court dismissed the Applicant’s Notice of Constitutional Question seeking a declaration of unconstitutionality arising from a conflict between the in-writing complaint provision mandated by s.10.2(2) of the Justices of the Peace Act and the Notice of Hearing provisions of the Procedures Document which allow an unfettered discretion to Presenting Counsel retained by the Justices of the Peace Review Council to present the case to also draft a Notice of Hearing having no relation to the complaint and even to assert liability for matters in a prior hearing which were clearly res judicata;

 8.      In addition, the Divisional Court Panel dismissed and or failed to consider the Applicant’s claim that the Hearing Panel which recommended his removal was chaired by a part-time judge who required the consent of the Attorney General to sit as a judge and was composed of two “temporary members” of the Review Council contrary to the Justices of the Peace and Procedures Document.

9.      Further, the panel of the Divisional Court dismissed the Applicant’s Notice of Constitutional Question seeking a declaration that the compensation-for-legal-costs portion of the Justices of the Peace Act is unconstitutional since the legislation has no statutory language requiring the Attorney General of Ontario to pay compensation on any recommendation for compensation involving a justice of the peace – while s.51.7(8) of the Courts of Justice Act contains mandatory language directing the Attorney General to pay compensation to Judges of the Ontario Court of Justice pursuant to any recommendation made by a Hearing Panel.

10.    By order dated April 9th, 2018 a panel of the Divisional Court dismissed the Applicant’s motion seeking to set aside, vary or amend a decision of another panel of the Divisional Court dated October 4th, 2016 expressly finding the decisions of liability and penalty of a Hearing Panel of the Justices of the Peace Review Council reasonable based on the record of proceedings before it, as a miscarriage of justice.

11.    Further, the said panel of the Divisional Court also dismissed the Applicant’s prayer for the following relief:

                   i.        An order declaring his appellate counsel on
                             the October 4th, 2016 order to have been in
                             a personal conflict of interest;

                   ii.       An order declaring his appellate counsel to 
                             have provided him ineffective assistance of 
                             counsel thereby depriving him of his 
                             constitutional right to a fair and impartial 
                             hearing of the review by a Superior Court
                             of his removal from judicial office;

                   iii.      An order declaring that Presenting Counsel 
                             exceeded the statutory ambit of her duties as 
                             Presenting Counsel under the Justices of the 
                             Peace Review Council’s Procedures Document 
                             and in so doing deprived the Hearing Panel 
                             with effective assistance of counsel and or
                             improperly interfered with the Applicant’s right 
                             to counsel and his right to defend his judicial 
                             office as is his constitutional right so to do;

                   iv.      An order declaring Henein Hutchison LLP to 
                             be in a conflict of interest and consequently 
                             disqualified from defending the decisions of 
                             The Justices of the Peace Review Council 
                             Hearing Panel’s decisions in this matter
                             since the challenged acts and omissions 
                             flow from their discharge of the function 
                             of Presenting Counsel before the Hearing 
                             Panel and the filling of the tribunal’s record 
                             of proceedings and it is for the Attorney 
                             General of Ontario to exercise his common 
                             law, constitutional and statutory Jurisdiction 
                             under the Ministry of the Attorney General
                             Act in the public interest.       


Cogent Reason to
Doubt Correctness
Of order:

Admittedly Deficient
Record:

12.    The Applicant’s motion while invoking Rule 59 with respect to various discrete items of fresh evidence raised a more fundamental point which  recognizes the fundamental role of the Superior Court in the adjudication of an application for judicial review which is to supervise the statutory exercise of power and to ensure that it was lawful. In this case, the Divisional Court upheld the Hearing Panel’s decisions of liability and penalty finding them not to be correct but to be reasonable based on the record before it;

13.    The April 9th, 2018 decision was made notwithstanding the following facts before the court:

                   i.        Breach of agreement by the parties before 
                             the Hearing Panel on the scope of the 
                             record of proceedings which is clearly 
                             reflected in the October 8th, 2014
                             transcript of the JPRC hearing;

                   ii.       A March 15th, 2017 written confirmation 
                             from the Registrar and Counsel of the Justices 
                             of the Peace Review confirming that they have 
                             in their possession the five volume investigation 
                             transcripts, exhibits 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 
                             12, 13A, 13B, 13C, 13D, 14A, 14B, 14C, 14D, 
                             14E, 14F, 14G, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 
                             24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30A, 30B, 30C and copies 
                             of all motion records, facta and boa;  and

                   iii.      A sworn affidavit from co-counsel for the JPRC 
                             that he and the Applicant’s appellate counsel on 
                             the judicial review hearing before the Divisional 
                             Court agreed after the parties had all filed their 
                             facta with the court that the five volume 
                             investigation transcripts would not be filed with 
                             the court but “would be made available to be 
                             passed up to the court if necessary”

Conflict with Jurisprudence
From this court:

14.    In Payne  v. Ontario Human Rights Commissions 2000 Canli 5731 (ONCA) the court stated:

                   [161]   An Applicant for judicial review has the right 
                               to have a full and accurate record of what went 
                               on before the tribunal put before the court. 
                               This is an aspect of the superior court’s inherent 
                               powers of judicial review... A statutory body 
                               subject to judicial review cannot immunize itself 
                               or its process by arriving at decisions
                               on considerations that are not revealed by the 
                               record it files with the court.

15.    In the April 9th, 2018 the Divisional Court Panel ruled that “Rule 59.06 does not apply to any of these matters. The Applicant knew of all of these issues and complaints before the entry of the October 2016 Order.”
         
16.    In Aird & Berlis LLP  v. Oravital Inc. 2018 ONCA 164 this Honourable Court set aside a motions judge’s finding that the appellants’ were sophisticated business people who were aware of the value of the damages and risks of litigation stating that it reflects a misapprehension of a lawyer’s duty of care to advise the clients about the legal basis for the damages and the risks of litigation. In addition, although the parties took the position that the issues for litigation could be resolved on a motion for summary judgement the court held that they were mistaken on that point and ordered a trial of the matters.

17.    Under s.10 of Judicial Review Procedure Act the duty to file the tribunal’s record is on “the person making the decision” as distinct from that person’s counsel or as in this case the law firm retained to perform the statutory function of Presenting Counsel pursuant to the JPRC Procedures Document.

Standing and Boot-Strapping:

18.    In Ontario  v. Ontario Power Generation [2015] 3 S.C.R. 147 the Supreme Court of Canada provided guidelines on the issues of tribunal standing to defend their own decision on judicial review and on boot-strapping, supplementing their decision with new arguments on appeal.

19.    The JPRC Procedures expressly provide that the role of Presenting Counsel, Henein Hutchision LLP is “to see that complaint against the justice of the peace is evaluated fairly and dispassionately to the end of achieving a just result”, a function which is long spent.

Conflict of Interest
Of Applicant’s Counsel
On Judicial Review:

20.    The April 9th, 2018 decision overlooked the following salient facts which placed the Applicant’s counsel on the judicial review in a conflict of interest or position of divided loyalty:

                             1.      He was an integral part of the Applicant’s
                                      legal team at the JPRC Hearing;

                             2.      Prior to the JPRC Hearing Panel making 
                                      its referral of the Applicant’s lead counsel 
                                      to the Law Society of Upper Canada 
                                      alleging, among other things, that he brought 
                                      meritless motions, that lawyer referred the 
                                      judicial review to him;

                             3.      He and his firm have historically been the
                                      counsel of choice for the subject lawyer,
                                      including on a reported case touching on
                                      that lawyer’s conduct;

                             4.      His initial draft of the Notice of Application 
                                      for Judicial Review and indeed the issued 
                                      document show a clear intention to challenge 
                                      the JPRC Hearing Panel’s errors in the 
                                      adjudication of the preliminary motions 
                                      attributed to the said lawyer;

                             5.      On June 22nd, 2015 the JPRC issued a
                                      Compensation Decision and Addendum
                                      alleging professional misconduct on the
                                      part of the Applicant’s lead counsel touching
                                      on the merits of legal arguments raised at
                                      the hearing;
  
                             6.      The Applicant was clear in his 
                                       instructions to counsel prosecuting 
                                       the Judicial review application that 
                                       the Hearing Panel’s adjudication of 
                                       the preliminary motions
                                      was in error and was evidence of the 
                                      Hearing Panel’s exhibition of a 
                                      reasonable apprehension of bias based 
                                      on his and his lead counsel’s race;

                             7.      At no time did the Applicant’s counsel on the
                                      Judicial review advise him that the Hearing
                                      Panel’s referral of his lead counsel to The
                                      Law Society of Upper Canada, where he sits
                                      as both a Bencher and Adjudicator on the 
                                      Law Society Tribunal placed him in a conflict 
                                      or position of divided loyalty which resulted 
                                      in the following acts of ineffective assistance 
                                      of counsel on their part:

                                               
    1.     Abandoning the argument that 
            the complaint, the Investigators
            Report and the Notice of Hearing
            did not match;

    2.      Abandoning the argument that 
             The Decision, Penalty and 
             Compensation Decision, and all 
             related interlocutory orders 
             should be quashed;

    3.      Abandoning the argument that 
             the Order in Council is predicated 
             on the decisions in the interlocutory 
             motions, the Decision and the Penalty 
             and should accordingly be quashed 
             as a result of the errors by the 
             Hearing Panel;

    4.      Abandoning the argument that 
            the allegations of vexatious, 
            unwelcome and poisoned work 
            environment called for an 
             objective test in order to 
             ground liability – a position he 
             supported when mentoring the 
             Applicant’s lead counsel before 
             the JPRC Hearing Panel;

  5.      Failing/refusing to raise at the 
           Divisional Court that a significant 
           part of the Notice of Hearing was 
           barred by the principle of law in 
           Hryciuk  v. Ontario only to raise
           it on the leave motion in this Court;

6.      Failing/refusing to raise the tainted 
         well doctrine of bias with respect to 
         the recusal of The Law Society of 
         Upper Canada’s nominee from the 
         Hearing Panel – erroneously asserting 
         in his Affidavit of January 3rd, 2018 
         that he did not raise it on judicial review 
         because it was not raised below;

7.      Failing/refusing to raise the 
         argument that the JPRC 
         Hearing Panel was  
         improperly constituted – 
         again erroneously asserting in 
         Exhibit II of his affidavit Of 
         January 3rd, 2108 that he did not 
         raise it because it was not raised 
         below when in fact it could not 
         have been raised below because 
         the disclosure was first made to him 
         after the tribunal’s decisions and the 
         Order-in-Council;
  
  8.      Failing to ensure that the Divisional 
           Court had a complete record of 
           proceedings and attempting to place 
           blame on the Applicant’s counsel who 
           was the subject of the JPRC referral to 
           the LSUC for this in his affidavit of 
           January 3rd, 2018;

 9.      Engaging in extensive conversation 
          with the investigator from the LSUC 
          on the JPRC referral between preparing 
          the memo on Presenting Counsel’s 
          conduct and serving and filing his 
          factum and Application Record in 
          January, 2016.

 10.    Refusing to raise numerous 
          serious excesses of Presenting 
          Counsel in the presentation of the 
          case against the Applicant detailed 
          in a November 8th2015 memo 
          which he admitted under cross
          -examination on February 8th
          2018 adversely impacted the 
          Applicant’s fair hearing rights.

 11.    Filing his facta and Application 
          Record before resolving the scope 
          of the record of proceedings contrary 
          to the Divisional Courts jurisprudence 
          where he has handled many such 
           applications.

 12.    Failing to discharge their duty of candour
          to the Applicant and to ensure that they
          properly advised him so that he could
          give an informed consent to their advice
          to him.                
                                               
 Presenting Counsel’s
Personal Conflict:

21.    Evidence before the Divisional Court panel on the Applicant’s motion indicated that he discovered in April 2017 that Presenting Counsel’s spouse was a law partner of the complainant former Presenting Counsel Doug Hunt.  Presenting Counsel did not call Mr. Hunt to give evidence and in fact when asked who the complainant was she advised that it was the witnesses she would call at the hearing. The Applicant relied on Presenting Counsel’s representation and questioned the witnesses on their intention to complain only for the Hearing Panel to rule that their intention was irrelevant as Mr. Hunt was determined to be the complainant only after the Hearing Panel’s liability decision was issued on January 12th, 2015.           
                                                           
22.    The Divisional Court ruled that neither the above or the other items of the fresh evidence adduced by the Applicant met the test for admission of fresh evidence on the motion.

 Fundamental Questions of
Law and Ethics Transcending
the parties:

23.   The Divisional Court Decision raises discrete issues about the role of the court, counsel and the Attorney General of Ontario on a judicial review application which merit consideration and clarification by this Honourable Court:

 1.      Did the Divisional Court construe the 
          Applicant’s Motion and Notice of 
          Constitutional Question asserting a
          miscarriage of justice before it too 
          narrowly ? 

 2.      Given the evidence before the Court 
          pointing to ineffective assistance of 
          counsel and conflict of interest which 
          deprived the Applicant of a fair hearing 
          before the Divisional Court and on his
          leave to appeal motion before this 
          Honourable Court did the Divisional 
          Court err in refusing to entertain this 
          evidence in  support of the Applicant’s 
          claim of a miscarriage of justice in
           the loss of judicial office ?

3.      Is there any principled reason why 
         ineffective assistance of  counsel in 
         the context of a judicial review application 
         pertaining to removal from judicial office 
         does not constitute facts arising or 
         discovered after an order is made 
         and constitutes an abuse of process merely 
         because the client relies on the same 
         lawyer on a leave to appeal motion ?

 4.     The Divisional Court’s decision is 
         inconsistent with jurisprudence from 
         the Supreme Court of Canada on tribunal 
         standing to defend its decisions and 
         boot-strapping, this court with respect 
         to the duty on a tribunal to file a complete 
         record on judicial review, the Federal 
        Court of Appeal and other courts with
        respect to the availability of ineffective 
        assistance of counsel as a basis for 
        establishing a breach of natural justice 
        and hence an unfair hearing in civil cases.

The following documentary evidence will be relied upon:


1.  Divisional Court Reasons dated April 9th, 2018;

2.  Motion Record originally filed with the Divisional Court will be
     Requisitioned;

3.   Such further evidence or documents which this Honourable Court may permit.




April 24th, 2018                                                                   

E. J. GUISTE
Professional Corporation
Trial & Appellate Advocacy
2 County Court Blvd., Suite 494
Brampton, Ontario
L6W 3W8
E.J. Guiste (LSUC # 34970C)
(416) 364-8908
(416) 364-0973 FAX
Counsel for the Applicant

   
Henein Hutchison LLP
235 King Street East, 3rd Floor
Toronto, Ontario
M5A 1J9

Tel.(416) 368-500 – Fax (416) 368-6640

Mr. S. Hutchison and Mr. M. Gourlay
Presenting Counsel and Counsel for the JPRC
In the Court Proceedings to Date


AND TO:

Ministry of the Attorney General for Ontario
Crown Law Office – Civil Law
720 Bay Street, 8th Floor
Toronto, Ontario
M7A 2S9

Tel. (416) 326-4155 – Fax (416) 326-4181
Ms. Sara Blake,  
Counsel for the Lieutenant Governor
In Council and the Attorney General

AND TO:

DEWART GLEASON LLP
102-366 Adelaide Street West
Toronto, Ontario
M5V 1R9

Tel.(416) 971-8000
Fax (416) 971-8001

Tim Gleason
Counsel for the Intervenor
AND TO:

The Attorney General of Canada (as required by s.109 of the Courts of Justice Act)
Suite 3400, Exchange Tower
Box 36, First Canadian Place
Toronto, Ontario
M5X 1K6

Fax (416) 952-0298

NOTE:  This Notice of Motion seeking leave to appeal was filed in the Court of Appeal for Ontario on April 24th, 2018.  It is published here because it raises issues of public importance. Is there any principled reason why a judicial officer removed from office is not entitled to effective assistance of counsel on a judicial review pursuant to the Judicial Review Procedures Act ?  Can a client give consent to circumstances giving rise to a conflict of interest and or divided loyalty on the part of his or her lawyer which impair his or her fair hearing rights ?