O. Reg. 50/25: RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE, COURTS OF JUSTICE ACT
ontario regulation 50/25
made under the
Courts of Justice Act
Made: April 9, 2025
Approved: May 2, 2025
Filed: May 5, 2025
Published on e-Laws: May 5, 2025
Published in The Ontario Gazette: May 24, 2025
Amending Reg. 194 of R.R.O. 1990
(RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE)
1. (1) Subrule 7.08 (2.1) of Regulation 194 of the Revised Regulations of Ontario, 1990 is amended by striking out “or judgment”.
(2) Rule 7.08 of the Regulation is amended by adding the following subrule:
Material Required for Approval
(3.1) Despite any other rule, a motion or application for the approval of a settlement by a judge under this rule may be made by the litigation guardian for a person under disability without notice to any other party, and the materials filed in support of the motion or application need not be served on any other party unless a judge orders otherwise.
(3) Subrule 7.08 (4) of the Regulation is amended by striking out the portion before clause (a) and substituting the following:
(4) Subject to any redactions or omissions required under subrule (4.2), a party or person seeking the approval of a settlement by a judge under this rule shall file, together with the notice of motion or notice of application, as the case may be, a motion or application record, which shall contain,
. . . . .
(4) Subrule 7.08 (4) of the Regulation is amended by adding the following clause:
(0.a) a table of contents describing each document, including each exhibit, by its nature and date and, in the case of an exhibit, by exhibit number or letter;
(5) Rule 7.08 of the Regulation is amended by adding the following subrules:
(4.2) If any information contained in the notice of motion or notice of application or in the motion or application record, including the grounds of the motion or application, is subject to solicitor-client privilege or could, if it were disclosed to another person, prejudice the person under disability, the lawyer acting for the litigation guardian shall ensure that the information is redacted or omitted from the document before filing it.
(4.3) The lawyer shall provide to the presiding judge at the hearing the complete and unredacted versions of the notice of motion or notice of application and motion or application record, which shall not form part of the court file.
(4.4) Unless a judge orders otherwise,
(a) the application or motion for approval of a settlement under this rule shall be heard in writing without the attendance of the parties; and
(b) a factum need not be served or filed.
(6) Clause 7.08 (5) (a) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “material” and substituting “complete and unredacted versions of the material”.
2. The heading to Rule 49 of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:
RULE 49 SETTLEMENT
3. Rule 49.01 of the Regulation is amended by striking out the portion before the first definition and substituting the following:
Definitions
49.01 In this Rule,
. . . . .
4. Rule 49 of the Regulation is amended by adding the following rule:
Application to Other Claims, Motions
49.01.1 This Rule applies to actions, applications and, with necessary modifications, motions, counterclaims, crossclaims and third or subsequent party claims.
5. Subrule 49.02 (2) of the Regulation is revoked.
6. Rule 49.03 of the Regulation is amended by striking out “hearing” and substituting “hearing of the proceeding”.
7. Rule 49.08 of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:
Party under Disability
49.08 A party under disability may make, withdraw and accept an offer to settle, but the acceptance of an offer made by a party under disability, or the acceptance by a party under disability of an offer made by another party, is not binding on the party under disability without the approval of a judge under rule 7.08, except as otherwise provided by that rule.
8. Rule 49.10 of the Regulation is amended by striking out “hearing” wherever it appears and substituting in each case “hearing of the proceeding”.
9. Rule 49.14 of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:
Partial Settlement Agreements
49.14 (1) In this rule,
“partial settlement agreement” means a settlement agreement in a proceeding, whether written or unwritten, where,
(a) at least one plaintiff and at least one defendant are parties to the agreement,
(b) at least one defendant is not a party to the agreement,
(c) the agreement does not settle the proceeding in its entirety, although it may be settled in its entirety as between some parties, and the parties to the agreement intend that the proceeding will continue to some extent, and
(d) the agreement is binding on the parties to the agreement, subject to the requirement for judicial approval under rule 7.08 if applicable.
Application
(2) The requirements of this rule apply except to the extent that a statute or a court order provides otherwise.
(3) Despite rule 49.01.1, this rule does not apply to applications for judicial review under Rule 68.
Obligation to Promptly Disclose
(4) Subject to subrule (8), a plaintiff who is a party to a partial settlement agreement shall disclose the terms of the agreement, other than the monetary value of the settlement, if any, to every other plaintiff and defendant who is not a party to the agreement,
(a) immediately after the agreement is reached, if the hearing of the proceeding has commenced; or
(b) if the hearing of the proceeding has not commenced, no later than the earlier of,
(i) seven days after the agreement is reached, and
(ii) the taking of any further step in the proceeding by any party to the agreement.
(5) Subject to subrule (8), as soon as possible after the disclosure, and in any event no later than seven days before the next date on which the parties are scheduled to appear in court, the plaintiff shall,
(a) record the terms of the partial settlement agreement, other than the monetary value of the settlement, if any, in Form 49E; and
(b) serve a copy of Form 49E on every other party to the proceeding and file it, with proof of service.
(6) The disclosure obligations in subrules (4) and (5) prevail over any agreement respecting confidentiality or non-disclosure between the parties to the partial settlement agreement.
(7) If a plaintiff fails to comply with subrule (4) or (5), the court may, on any other party’s motion,
(a) make an order for costs, regardless of the outcome of the proceeding;
(b) order or permit further examinations for discovery, to be conducted at the plaintiff’s expense;
(c) order additional disclosure or production of documents;
(d) strike out all or part of a party’s evidence, including any affidavit made by the party;
(e) adjourn a hearing or other step that permits or requires the attendance of the parties;
(f) stay the proceeding; or
(g) make such other order as is just.
If Agreement Subject to Approval under r. 7.08
(8) In the case of a partial settlement agreement that is subject to a judge’s approval under rule 7.08,
(a) within seven days after filing the notice of motion and motion record for court approval of the partial settlement agreement, the litigation guardian shall inform all other parties to the proceeding that it has filed the notice and record;
(b) if the judge approves the agreement,
(i) the judge may give directions modifying the application of subrules (4) and (5) with respect to the agreement, and
(ii) subject to any directions given under subclause (i), the litigation guardian shall, no later than seven days after the judge approves the agreement, inform all other parties to the proceeding that court approval of the partial settlement agreement has been granted;
(c) until the judge makes a determination under rule 7.08 with respect to the agreement, no step shall be taken by a party to the proceeding that may reasonably be considered to prejudice another party; and
(d) the terms of the agreement shall not be disclosed to a person who is not a party to the agreement or their lawyer, except as provided for under rule 7.08 or this rule.
No Effect on Requirement to Disclose Settlement Amount
(9) For greater certainty, where no party to a partial settlement agreement is under disability, nothing in this rule limits any requirement of a party to disclose the monetary value of the settlement for any purpose, including to avoid double recovery.
Disclosure of Settlement Amount where Party under Disability
(10) Where a party to the partial settlement agreement is under disability, the party’s litigation guardian shall seek direction from the court respecting any legal requirement to disclose the monetary value of a settlement for any purpose, including to avoid double recovery, and such direction may be sought at a case conference or on a motion heard in writing without notice.
10. The Table of Forms to the Regulation is amended by adding the following row:
| 49E | Terms of Partial Settlement Agreement | March 1, 2025 |
Commencement
11. This Regulation comes into force on the day that is six weeks after the day this Regulation is filed.
Civil Rules Committee:
Le Comité des règles en matière civile :
Shannon Chace
Executive Legal Officer / Avocate Directrice
Secretary of the Civil Rules Committee /
Secrétaire du Comité des règles en matière civile
Court of Appeal for Ontario
Date made: April 9, 2025
Pris le : 9 avril 2025
I approve this Regulation.
J’approuve le présent règlement.
Le procureur général,
Doug Downey
Attorney General
Date approved: May 2, 2025
Approuvé le : 2 mai 2025
