AS OF JANUARY 13, 2020, SUPERIOR COURT IS NO LONGER LOCATED AT 393 UNIVERSITY AVENUE.
CIVIL HAS MOVED TO 330 UNIVERSITY AND FAMILY IS LOCATED AT 361 UNIVERSITY.
Pretty much everything else still applies.
The Toronto Superior Court of Justice is located at 393 University Avenue, Toronto, at the corner of University and Armoury, just south of Dundas, and is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday to Friday, excluding statutory holidays.
The closest subway stops are Osgoode (Queen and University) to the south and Dundas (Dundas and University) to the north. Parking – if you can get it – is from 9:30am to 3:30 p.m. curbside on Armoury and University and behind the building on Centre. Mind the construction. Probably you’ll have to park under City Hall – lamest numbering convention ever. Just park near “Squirrel” – elevators beat going up the stairwells, which smell like a port-a-potty. Don’t touch the handrails.
There’s a Staples conveniently located at the base of the building – don’t count on it for stationery relevant to legal proceedings (ie, buff or white 25-cut tabs or red and bright yellow 60# card stock for volume covers). It does have a little coffee shop that serves some truly excellent java but i give the baked goods a hard pass: they’re vegan and not only bland, but also have some rather curious textures. The photocopiers have been upgraded and work well for PrintMe services: just email your documents in doc or pdf format to staples@printme.com and you’ll get back a 24-hr print code to plug into the machine and print your stuff out. MAKE SURE you set the copies to black and white to avoid severe sticker shock. Never mind getting them Cerlox-bound – just buy the spine and do it yourself in the file room at the courthouse.
The Family Law Information Centre is located on the ninth floor – start your day there if you’re wondering how to get something done. They have the stationery and the internet access.
If you don’t want to lose too much of your work day, plan to get to 330 University no later than about 7:30 a.m. for Civil filings. Line up out the back of the building and wait to be called in. They don’t like crowds cluttering up the building.
The vetting clerk will review your documents for any obvious mistakes – wrong dates, not commissioned, forgot to sign, etc – and issue you a ticket. You’ll get a text when you’re close to being called.
It’s usually a bit better for family filings than Civil – you can get there at 8:30 a.m. and be out fairly quickly, usually, because most documents can’t be filed at the counter. Depending on the age of the file, you might have to order it and wait a week or longer to have it brought from the Cooksville storage facility. If you’re really unlucky, it’s an old file and you need to contact the archives at York University.
Family – IF you have permission to file over the counter, you still need to book it up:
- 361 isn’t fussy about how you fasten your Continuing Record, but a single ring top left is preferred.
- Use standard 3-hole punch, not those single-punch machines that put the hole way too far into the document.
- DO NOT put “Family Court” or “Family Court Branch” at the top of the page and on the cover – 393 is not a unified court.
- The clerks do not photocopy – if you want a copy of the Table of Contents or proof of filing, use your phone or the photocopier.
- Setdowns do not get entered into the Table of Contents – they’re sent up as a basket motion
- Simple divorce does not require a cover, etc, but if you prefer, then it’s a unified volume with a red cover containing the “Table of Contents” tab, the first page of the Table of Contents, “Endorsements” tab, 3 endorsement sheets, “Orders” tab, “Documents” tab, and the documents with their tabs.
- If the Respondent files an Answer to a simple divorce, the filing party is responsible for generating the yellow endorsements cover and reconfiguring the file.
- Service by mail to India is not accepted – India is a Hague signatory for the service of judicial and extra-judicial documents. Service must be through the Hague authority.
Civil:
- back pages are MANDATORY
- To file a Motion in Estates, you have to book the motion first by sending the booking form by email to Toronto.commerciallist@jus.gov.on.ca (don’t be thrown by the “commercial list” – it’s all the same thing) or fax to 416-326-2939
- CRITICAL: you MUST MUST MUST file your confirmation with the Estates counter no later than three days before your motions date.
- To book a Motion in Superior Civil, you have to email the Motions counter at JUS.G.MAG.CSD.CivilMotionsScheduling@ontario.ca
- Once your date is booked, you issue your Notice of Motion within ten days or it will be vacated. Once it’s issued, you must file your motion materials according to the timelines.
- REMEMBER that you MUST file your confirmation three days before the motion date or it will be struck from the list.
- Long motions require a factum in both paper and electronic format (USB stick).