Date: 20031119
Docket: T-768-03
Citation: 2003 FC 1365
Toronto, Ontario, November 19th, 2003
Present: THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE O'REILLY
BETWEEN:
KEYVAN NOURHAGHIGHI
Applicant
and
THE MINISTRY OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION
Respondent
REASONS FOR ORDER AND ORDER
[1] Mr. Nourhaghighi has asked the Court to order a number of lawyers acting for the Attorney General of Canada to show cause why they should not be held in contempt of court. Mr. Nourhaghighi filed his motion within the context of his request for an order compelling the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration to process his application for citizenship. Mr. Nourhaghighi actually became a Canadian citizen on September 2, 2003. Still, for a variety of reasons, he wishes to continue his proceedings against the Minister.
[2] I have reviewed Mr. Nourhaghighi's written submissions with care and listened attentively to his oral representations. However, I find no basis on which to grant his main request. Still, I will grant him an alternative remedy, discussed below.
[3] Mr. Nourhaghighi's allegations on the issue of contempt of court include accusations that one or more of the putative contemnors violated a court order, participated in a long-standing conspiracy against him, perpetrated frauds upon this Court and abetted attempts to poison him with noxious gases.
[4] In respect of the alleged violation of a court order, it is clear that the respondent failed to comply with an order requiring it to serve and file its record in Mr. Nourhaghighi's application no later than October 30, 2003. The respondent has now filed a motion for an extension of time. As such, I see no grounds for contempt. In due course, the Court will simply decide whether or not the respondent will be permitted to file its record.
[5] As for the other grounds Mr. Nourhaghighi relied on for a show cause order, they fail for want of sufficient proof tendered in support of the motion. That is not to say that the allegations are not genuinely believed by Mr. Nourhaghighi to be accurate and verifiable.
[6] Mr. Nourhaghighi also asked for an order preventing the respondent from filing further motions in this matter unless leave of the Court is granted. At the same time, the respondent has filed a motion to like effect in respect of Mr. Nourhaghighi. I will grant a form of order that addresses the concerns of both parties.
[7] It is regrettable that legal proceedings sometimes devolve into protracted skirmishes over procedural and tangential issues. When this happens, the purpose and objective of the underlying legal claim can be lost. Obviously, the Court has a role to play in these situations. It must "secure the just, most expeditious and least expensive determination of every proceeding on its merits": Federal Court Rules, 1998, Rule 3. In my view, in appropriate circumstances, this includes taking measures that constrain the parties from drifting too far beyond the parameters of the legal dispute between them: Olympia Interiors Ltd. v. R., [1997] F.C.J. No. 127.
[8] In this case, as a justification for the relief it seeks, the respondent points to the numerous motions, both past and pending, initiated by Mr. Nourhaghighi. Mr. Nourhaghighi lays a similar accusation against the respondent. I am satisfied that the circumstances of this case warrant an order aimed at limiting further interlocutory motions in this proceeding. Its terms are set out in detail below.
[9] In light of the foregoing, I dismiss the additional forms of relief sought by Mr. Nourhaghighi; namely, his requests for an order requiring the Court Registry to scrutinize the respondent's materials with special care and for an order requiring the alleged contemnors to pay the costs of contempt proceedings out of their own pockets.
ORDER
THIS COURT ORDERS that:
1. From this date forward, neither party may file or present orally any interlocutory motion in this proceeding without first obtaining leave of the Court.
2. Leave may be requested in writing by a letter addressed to the Court.
3. A request for leave shall be supported by a draft notice of motion and motion record.
4. A request for leave shall be served on the opposite party. The opposite party may respond by letter within 3 business days of service.
5. In respect of any pending motions, the moving party must comply with the foregoing paragraphs, and leave must be granted, before the motion will be heard.
6. This proceeding shall continue as a specially managed proceeding.
7. The costs of both Mr. Nourhaghighi's motion and the respondent's motion shall be payable to the successful party in the main application.
"James W. O'Reilly"
Judge
FEDERAL COURT
NAMES OF COUNSEL AND SOLICITORS OF RECORD
DOCKET: T-768-03
STYLE OF CAUSE: KEYVAN NOURHAGHIGHI
Applicant
and
THE MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP AND
IMMIGRATION
Respondent
PLACE OF HEARING: TORONTO, ONTARIO
DATE OF HEARING: NOVEMBER 17, 2003
REASONS FOR ORDER
AND ORDER BY: O'REILLY J.
DATED: NOVEMBER 19, 2003
APPEARANCES:
|
Keyvan Nourhaghighi
|
FOR THE APPLICANT (on his own behalf) |
|
Mr. Lorne McClenaghan |
FOR THE RESPONDENT |
SOLICITORS OF RECORD:
|
|
FOR THE APPLICANT (on his own behalf) |
|
Deputy Attorney General of Canada Toronto, Ontario |
FOR THE RESPONDENT |
FEDERAL COURT
Date: 20031119
Docket: T-768-03
BETWEEN:
KEYVAN NOURHAGHIGHI
Applicant
and
THE MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION
Respondent
REASONS FOR ORDER AND ORDER