Appealing an Order in a Case
When a final order is made in the Ontario Court of Justice, a party must serve a notice of appeal on the opposing side within 30 days of the order or decision being appealed. The notice of appeal must be filed in court within 10 days of it being served.
If a temporary order is being appealed, the notice of appeal must be served with seven days of the temporary order.
The name of a case in an appeal is the same as the name in the case in the order appealed from. The name of a case in an appeal identifies the parties as appellant and respondent.
Appeals from the Ontario Court of Justice are heard by a judge of the Superior Court of Justice.
Appeals from the Superior Court of Justice are heard by either the Court of Appeal or the Divisional Court, depending on whether the order being appealed is final or temporary, and the amount in issue. If the order being appealed is temporary, or if the order is final and the amount in issue is less than $50,000 then the appeal is heard by the Divisional Court. If the order being appealed is final and the amount in issue exceeds $50,000, the appeal is heard by the Court of Appeal.
Appealing a temporary order from the Superior Court of Justice requires permission or a “leave” to appeal. Leave to appeal is only granted if there is a conflicting decision by another judge or court in Ontario and it is in the opinion of the judge hearing the motion, desirable that leave to appeal is granted. An appeal could also be granted if the motion judge believes that there is good reason to doubt the correctness of the order.
Once the appeal has been filed, the appellant must serve every other party two documents: the appeal record and a factum. The appeal record contains the notice of appeal, the order appealed from, the reasons for the order, a transcript of the oral evidence, and any other evidence necessary for the appeal. The factum contains an overview of the case, the issue on appeal, a summary of facts, a copy of all relevant legislative provisions, and the order sought.
To learn more about appeals in a family law matter, contact the family lawyers at Krol & Krol at 905.707.3370.
