July 22, 2025
If you are involved in a lawsuit in Ontario, you may find that through no fault of your own, you are unable to proceed on the date set for the case.
What happens?
You, or your lawyer, must request an adjournment. Note that the key word here is request. There is no right to an adjournment. Being given more time is an indulgence granted by a court.
Why is this timely?
Time is a precious resource within the court system, and with backlogs persisting, wasting court time because someone is not ready just is a bad thing.
Judges are under pressure not to waste this valuable resource.
Granting an adjournment is always in the discretion of the judge hearing the request. Because it is discretionary, appealing based on a refusal of an adjournment is seldom successful. Appeal judges are as aware of time pressures just like lower court judges.
Good and bad reasons
This does not mean that you can never get an adjournment. In life, stuff happens. Judges are people too and realize this. There are good and bad reasons to request an adjournment. Good reasons include:
- Unexpected illness
- Unexpected developments that require more time to respond to
- A need for the case to be moved to a special date
- A need to cross-examine on affidavits
Even these good reasons work best when brought to the attention of the court early, when something else can be scheduled at the time assigned.
Bad reasons to request an adjournment include:
- Inconvenience
- Lack of appropriate preparation
- A scheduling conflict which existed at the time the date was originally set.
- A sudden change in representation at the last minute
If you must seek an adjournment because of a bad reason, you better have a convincing story which makes it sound like a good reason. Telling stories well is a skill of a good lawyer. It may not be in your wheelhouse. This is just one of the many reasons that good legal representation is a good idea. But for many reasons, including the bad reason for an adjournment, seeking that representation promptly is always a good idea.
An adjournment to hire a lawyer may be granted before a hearing date is set but will seldom be a good reason to delay a scheduled hearing.
Timing is often everything
Before seeking an adjournment, it is important to knowing the expectations as to what will happen on a particular appearance. In most situations, there will be a first appearance at which an adjournment to allow hiring a lawyer, or preparing the case, is expected. Once a case is set for hearing, that is when adjournments become difficult to obtain. Lawyers usually can tell what these expectations are, which is a reason to talk to a lawyer. A lawyer will only be able to give you good advice about the likelihood of an adjournment if they have complete and accurate information about the procedural history and status of the matter.
Is a lawyer more likely to get you an adjournment?
Judges are trained to be unbiased in dealing with self-represented parties, so it should not make a difference, but go back and read our comments above about bad reasons and storytelling. Sometimes the reason is so bad, or the delay so egregious, that not even a lawyer can help you, but it never hurts.
WHAT WEILERS LLP CAN DO TO HELP YOU
The litigation team at Weilers will use their knowledge, skills, and experience to advocate strongly for your case. We have credibility with judges and understand their expectations. We are skilled story tellers.
If an adjournment is appropriate, we will do our best to obtain one for a good reason, in a timely manner. We will be honest with you about the prospects of an adjournment, just as we will be honest with you about the prospects of your case as it progresses.
If you want hard work and straightforward advice from your lawyers, give us a call. We might be the right lawyers for you.