April 2, 2021 – Coming to Court Without Notice

“It is trite that a party appearing before the court without notice to the other side has a positive duty to place all material facts before the court, even those facts which are contrary to the parties’ interest, failing which that order may be set aside: see Cadas v. Cadas, [2013] O.J. No. 2054 (S.C.J.).   The rationale behind this is clear:  the other side is not present to provide both sides of the story and the court therefore relies solely upon the veracity of the claimant’s materials.  This is especially important at present when the entire court file is not available to the Justice considering the matter.  It is important that the court receive accurate information even where the responding party is not served so that a fair and reasonable order can be made by the court, particularly if it involves the best interests of a child.”

Little v. Cooper, 2020 ONSC 2023 (CanLII) at 9