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STORE & SHRED Exceptional Quality at Reasonable Prices! COPY, SCAN, Call us today to fi nd out how much you can Save. TF: 1.888.781.9083 www.docudavit.com ocdavit_LT_June7_10.indd 1 $4.00 • Vol. 21, No. 33 6/4/10 9:22:44 AM Covering Ontario's Legal Scene www.twitter.com/lawtimes Untitled-3 1 Cyber-service 'a new frontier' Kingston judge allows litigant to serve through Facebook BY MICHAEL McKIERNAN Law Times A n Ontario judge has urged law- yers to be creative with electronic methods of service after allowing a litigant to do it using Facebook in a family law case. Earlier this month, Ontario Superior Court Justice Cheryl Robertson presented a paper on substituted electronic service to the Kingston and the 1000 Islands Legal Conference. Alison McEwen, a judicial law clerk, co-wrote the article. "In a province where, for reasons of money and time, the judicial system is in- creasingly out of reach for many, e-service can be a useful and viable alternative," they wrote. "It is not only time effi cient but also cost-effi cient. It will cost an ap- plicant nothing to serve someone on Fa- cebook or by e-mail, and further, for the younger generation, this is a medium that they understand and know how to use." But Roberston, who has also allowed service by BlackBerry, warned that the notoriously slow court system might not embrace the trend immediately. "It will be foreign for some, and some will be uncomfortable using these electronic servers, but with time their advantages will likely win over even the greatest of skeptics," the pair wrote. "You may have to educate judges and convince them that this option is viable. Cyber-service is a new frontier waiting for your creativity and imagination." 'In the world of Facebook, MySpace, and texting, it's a real development. It brings the law completely and fully up to date in terms of service,' says Eugene Meehan. Th e Facebook case involved a paternity action in which the mother was unable to track down an address for the father. She was, however, able to fi nd him on Facebook and sent him a message with documents at- tached. His reply, which was then attached to an affi davit as an exhibit in court, was enough to convince Robertson to issue an order that service was eff ected. Eugene Meehan, chairman of the Su- preme Court practice group at Lang Mi- chener LLP, says it's the fi rst time he's seen Facebook used as a method of substituted service. "In the world of Facebook, MyS- pace, and texting, it's a real development. It brings the law completely and fully up to date in terms of service." Meehan expects the trend to persist as social media continues to play a pivotal role in the lives of litigants and lawyers alike. "It's just the reality today," he says. "When you walk out in the street, how many people do you see texting?" Toronto Internet lawyer Gil Zvulony says he was happy to see a judge welcoming social media into the court process. "Judg- es are sometimes a little more conservative and not ready to embrace new technology, so that's refreshing." Kristin Muszynski, who helped orga- nize the conference, says the relative youth of the bar in Kingston, Ont., made the judge's talk a particularly popular and per- tinent one. Th e Rules of Civil Procedure allow for substituted service of originating docu- ments when it appears "impractical for any reason to eff ect prompt service." Th e Family Law Rules are even more stringent. See Lawyer, page 5 Toronto lawyer, Aga Khan call truce BY MICHAEL McKIERNAN Law Times he has no regrets about how the high-profi le case played out. Alnaz Jiwa had previously re- A fused to believe the Aga Khan was the man behind the action requesting he halt distribution of unauthorized copies of the imam's teachings but at a face-to- face meeting in Toronto on Oct. 15, he got the message straight from the source. "If he doesn't want us to do something, there is no way I am going to do it," Jiwa tells Law Times. According to Jiwa, the parties Toronto lawyer who set- tled a copyright dispute with the Aga Khan says agreed that he and his co-defen- dant Nagib Tajdin, a Canadian businessman based in Kenya, would stop selling their book of collected Farmans, a type of re- ligious teaching delivered by the Aga Khan to his Ismaili followers. Jiwa says the defendants won't be ordered the Aga Khan to appear for a 15-minute examination for discovery during a brief stop in the city to deliver the keynote ad- dress at the Institute for Canadian Citizenship's annual LaFontaine- Baldwin Symposium. Although Jiwa had earlier It was a positive outcome that we're all satisfi ed with, and I think we'll all be able to move forward quite well. forced to recall the 5,000 books they had already sold and that further meetings would fl esh out the terms of the settlement. "It was a positive outcome that we're all satisfi ed with, and I think we'll all be able to move forward quite well." Th e meeting came after a court waived his right to examine his leader, Tajdin persisted. Eventu- ally, Federal Court prothonotary Mireille Tabib ordered the Aga Khan to appear on Sept. 24. Brian Gray, the senior part- ner at Ogilvy Renault LLP who represented the Aga Khan in the case, says he's unable to comment on the meeting. He had fought the appearance right down to the wire. Two days before his client's arrival in Toronto, Federal Court Justice Richard Boivin dismissed his motion to set aside Tabib's order. A day later, Gray said the meeting shouldn't proceed be- cause Jiwa had yet to fi le an af- fi davit of documents in the case. In a letter submitted to the Federal Court, Tajdin asked for Gray to be found in contempt of court if the discovery didn't happen. He also wanted Gray to foot the bill for his fl ight from Nairobi. "We're not going to have the Aga Khan show up unless the court orders him to do so," Gray told the Ottawa Citizen. See Imam, page 5 Administration tasks and Financial Transactions are smooth and seamless. Mission Accomplished. To find out more call or email us today 1 866.367.7648 I sales@doprocess.com ©2010 Do Process Software Ltd. estate-a-base™ Untitled-2 1 www.lawtimesnews.com is a registered trademark of Do Process Software Ltd. All rights reserved. 10/19/10 9:52:40 AM LT Digital version spring.indd 1 9/3/10 11:09:39 AM Focus On Trusts & Estates Quote of the week "The statistics are that about 80 per cent of elder abuse is fi nancial in nature, and 75 per cent of the abusers are family members. That's a pretty startling statistic." — Adam Cappelli, Cambridge LLP, See Powers, page 10 October 25, 2010 Follow on 5/5/10 3:55:30 PM Inside This Issue 3 New ID 6 Financial Recovery 9 Click here to subscribe today to LAW TIMES

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