What is civil purge court?

This is a public service annoucement from your friendly editor in chief.

Yesterday, I received the usual daily update from the Ontario Court of Appeal that lists what decisions etc. have been released. In it, was a notification about “civil purge court” in the case of Parker v. Fockler at which a three-judge panel would sit.

What, I thought to myself, is this civil purge court? I shall ask lawyers and judges I know to find out. None did. I tweeted it out the universe and still was no further informed. So I asked John Kromkamp, senior legal officer of the Ontario Court of Appeal who is also the court’s media liaison.

He shed light on what the civil purge court is and thus I am sharing in the spirit of information dissemination.

Here is Krompkamp’s answer:
These are pretty rare. We have a regular status court to keep transcript production moving within reasonable time frames, and we have a number of rules that permit the Registrar to administratively dismiss appeals that are in default of various rules for delay. This case appears to be one where there appears to be unreasonable delay by the appellant but is not technically in default of a rule. As a result at a previous status court the judge referred the matter to a panel to potentially dismiss the appeal effectively for “want of prosecution” to use the old expression. Where the appeal is not in default, it requires a panel to dismiss the appeal. Hence this single case is before a panel, to be purged (unless the appellant has a very good reason to explain the delay and a solid assurance that it will be heard soon).

So now you know. You are welcome.

Recent articles & video

Mounting threats to gender-based rights a theme at LEAF’s annual Equality Day reception

Ontario Court of Appeal clarifies insurance coverage rule for passengers of stolen vehicles

Top Personal Injury Boutiques for 2023 unveiled by Canadian Lawyer

Lega unveils LLM governance platform to jumpstart law firms' AI journey

Cassels reimagines office design, replaces ‘old partner’ setup with ‘equality of access’ to daylight

Report calls for federal framework to implement Canada’s international human rights obligations

Most Read Articles

Cassels reimagines office design, replaces ‘old partner’ setup with ‘equality of access’ to daylight

SCC finds company committed abusive tax avoidance in case dealing with general anti-avoidance rule

Roundup of law firm hires, promotions, departures: May 29, 2023 update

David Stern’s cold calls launched his career in entertainment and sports law