Case information

Civil procedure — Parties — Representation — Appointment of litigation guardian nunc pro tunc — Public Guardian and Trustee acting on plaintiff’s behalf without plaintiff’s consent and instructing counsel to negotiate settlement of action subject to obtaining court order appointing Public Guardian and Trustee as litigation guardian — Court appointing Public Guardian and Trustee as litigation guardian for plaintiff nunc pro tunc after settlement agreement negotiated and approving settlement agreement — Does s. 15(1) of the Charter encompass a right for every individual litigant to an impartial process, both real and apparent — Does the common law principle of automatic disqualification apply in Canada, and, if so, what form does it take — Is Rule 62.02 of the Ontario Rules of Civil Procedure unconstitutional — Does a court of first instance have an obligation to hear a complaint of bias on merits evidence — What test should apply for granting leave to appeal in circumstances involving a reasonable apprehension of bias?<br>

Case summaries are prepared by the Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Canada (Law Branch). Please note that summaries are not provided to the Judges of the Court. They are placed on the Court file and website for information purposes only.

In 2017, Master Pope appointed the Public Guardian and Trustee as litigation guardian of Ms. Lengyel in her action against TD Home and Auto Insurance arising from a motor vehicle accident on November 3, 2011. Ms. Lengyel was in a second motor vehicle accident on June 4, 2014 and commenced a separate, second action against TD Home and Auto Insurance. The Public Guardian and Trustee retained counsel to negotiate settlement of both actions subject to an appointment of it as litigation guardian in the second action. Counsel negotiated a settlement of both actions without Ms. Lengyel’s consent. A motions judge appointed the Public Guardian and Trustee as Ms. Lengyel’s litigation guardian in the second proceeding nunc pro tunc and approved the settlement agreement. Ms. Lengyel was denied leave to appeal to Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Divisional Court). The Court of Appeal dismissed an application for leave to appeal.