“Family law litigants are entitled to one settlement conference unless otherwise permitted by the case management judge. They are expected to come to that conference fully compliant with all the Family Law Rules. A settlement conference should not be the forum to dispute and adjudicate upon disclosure issues where there are numerous items in dispute the relevance and proportionality of which can only be determined by a motion. To hold a settlement conference otherwise is a complete waste of the court’s valuable time and the parties’ resources. Either parties come to a settlement conference prepared to discuss settlement confident that they have as much relevant information as obtainable to assist them or they come unprepared. The parties in this case are clearly unprepared. Non-compliance with the above Rules is evidence of that. None of the Rules is permissive.
It is inconceivable that a party who raises serious disclosure shortcomings can make an informed settlement decision or that a lawyer can competently give settlement advice to such a client. A settlement conference is not a disclosure dartboard.
As noted by Kiteley J. in Greco-Wang v. Wang, 2014 ONSC 5366, “[m]embers of the public who are users of civil courts are not entitled to unlimited access to trial judges”. While that observation was made in the context of a Trial Scheduling Conference, it is equally, if not more, pertinent to settlement conference events. Too often serial settlement conference events are permitted in circumstances where there are continuing complaints about inadequate or refused disclosure impacting a party’s ability to make an informed settlement decision. That practice must end.
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The parties are entitled to one settlement conference unless otherwise ordered. Either they comply with their disclosure obligations, bring a disclosure motion if they are dissatisfied with the other’s disclosure and comply with the Family Law Rules or their day in court will not happen any time in the near future. A settlement conference can serve many purposes. Serialized mediation is not one of them.