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OTTAWA POLICE SERVICES BOARD COMMISSION DE SERVICES POLICIERS D’OTTAWA
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Working together for a safer community La sécurité de notre communauté, un travail d’équipe |
REPORTRAPPORT |
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DATE 22 July 2013
TO/DEST. Executive Director, Ottawa Police Services Board
FROM/EXP. Board Solicitor
SUBJECT/OBJET LEGAL SERVICES STATUS REPORT: SECOND QUARTER 2013
RECOMMENDATION
That the Ottawa Police Services Board receive this report for information.
BACKGROUND
The City Clerk and Solicitor Department is a full-service, in-house law practice that provides a broad range of services to the Police Services Board in the areas of civil litigation, labour and employment law, procedural and general legal advice, corporate/commercial/development and environmental law. The Department’s objective is to achieve this through the most cost-effective and efficient combination of both in-house and external lawyers. In this latter regard, the Department has a Strategic Standing Offer (SSO) with two law firms for the provision of external legal services. The new SSO was negotiated for the period 2011-2014 and provides for very favourable, blended hourly rates set for the duration of the four-year term.
Pursuant to Section 6.1 of Board Policy #GA-8 – Legal Services, the Board Solicitor shall submit a report to the Board on a quarterly basis that includes statistical information and concise analysis of trends on:
- positive and negative variances against the approved budget;
- all claims or actions filed against the Board including how many have been filed, how many are outstanding, how many have been settled, the nature of them (categorized by type), and the cost of settlements;
- the number, cost and outcome of all appeals and applications for judicial review;
- any issues of significance the Board should be advised of.
In compliance with Section 6.1, this report provides the requested information with respect to the second quarter of 2013.
Ottawa Police Service2013 Second Quarter Costs of Legal Services
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Item |
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 |
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Internal Costs |
$74,876 $ 67,200 |
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External Costs |
$ 2,902 $ 84,953 |
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Disbursements |
$ 4,471 $ 4,625 |
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2013 Total |
$82,249 $156,778 |
DISCUSSION
2013 Budget
The Police Services Board has allocated $328,900 for the provision of legal services in 2013 – an increase of $15K over 2012. At the completion of the second quarter $239,027 or approximately 73% of the budget was spent. The adjacent chart sets out expenditures for the entire year (rounded out for space purposes). The costs reflect the significant staff time devoted to representing the Board, both at trial as well as at mediations, discoveries and settlement conferences. In Q2, there were also significant legal costs incurred in preparation for an upcoming multi-day trial, originally scheduled for late May but which has since been rescheduled for September of this year.
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Type of Claim |
Number |
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False Arrest |
27 |
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Seizure of Personal Property |
0 |
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Breach of Charter of Rights |
4 |
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Personal Injury |
3 |
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Excessive Force/Assault |
13 |
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Malicious Prosecution |
2 |
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Negligence/Negligent Investigation |
5 |
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Vehicle/Property Damage |
0 |
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Trespassing |
1 |
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Perjury |
0 |
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Other |
11 |
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Motor Vehicle Accident |
7 |
2013 Litigation Claims
Two Statements of Claim were received on behalf of the Police Services Board in the second quarter of 2013. Currently there are 73 outstanding claims/notices of claim against the Board. Eight of those claims are with external legal counsel as directed by the Board’s insurer or due to the requirement for a specialized legal expertise. The remaining 65 claims are assigned to various in-house Legal Counsel. The adjacent list sets out the number of current litigated claims by category or type. Beginning in Q1 2013, Legal Services started including motor vehicle accident claims involving police vehicles within its quarterly report to the Police Services Board. Though the City of Ottawa, as registered owner of those vehicles, is frequently named or included as a party in those claims, in keeping with the accident insurance scheme in Ontario, the inclusion of motor vehicle accident claims within the quarterly reports will provide a more accurate summary of all outstanding litigation affecting the Board.
2013 Non-Litigated Claims
Given the extensive infrastructure owned by the City and the wide range of municipal services provided, claims for compensation from members of the public are inevitable. Altogether, the Claims Unit within the Legal Services function receives an average of more than 1600 claims per year. A small percentage of those claims involve the Ottawa Police Services Board.
The role of the Claims Unit is to receive, assess, and adjudicate claims on behalf of the City of Ottawa, including the Police Services Board, with a view to ensuring that fair compensation is provided where legally obligated. The corollary of that role is to deny requests for compensation where the City and Police Services Board are not legally responsible for the losses claimed. Recognizing that the total annual value of all City claims received is often in the order of $20M, the proper adjudication of claims acts as a means to ensure the appropriate expenditure of public funds.
Between the beginning of the year and the end of the second quarter, 23 new claims were received by the Claims Unit. The following chart reflects the number and type of claims opened during this period, and the status of each type of claim at the end of the second quarter. As of July1st, there were four open non-litigated claims: three Damage/Injury – Arrest/Detainment claims, and one Injury from City Animals claim.
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All New Claims Opened between January 1, 2013 and June 30, 2013 |
Closed - Denied |
Closed - Paid |
Open |
Open Litigated |
Count |
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Damage/Injuries - Arrest/Detainment |
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1 |
3 |
1 |
5 |
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Falling Ice, Snow, Debris TP BI/PD |
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1 |
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1 |
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Injuries From City Animals |
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1 |
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1 |
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Losses Due to Other Alleged City Involvement |
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1 |
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1 |
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Loss Involving Police Property Room |
1 |
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1 |
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MVA, City and Third Party Vehicle - No AB |
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2 |
2 |
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Property Damage - Forced Entry By Police |
4 |
2 |
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6 |
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TP Property Damage/Loss (Limited Use) |
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1 |
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1 |
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TP Property Dmg. By Contracted Veh/Equip. |
1 |
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1 |
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Vehicle Towing/Impounding |
2 |
2 |
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4 |
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Total |
8 |
8 |
4 |
3 |
23 |
TP = Third Party; MVA = Motor Vehicle Accident; AB = Accident Benefits; BI/PD = Bodily Injury/Property Damage
A total of 18 non-litigated claims (16 from 2013 and two carried over from the previous year) were closed for the year-to-date at the end of the second quarter, with a total of $7,992.54 paid out in compensation. Below is a summary of amounts paid for claim type.
Closed Police Services Claims – Date Closed Between
January 1, 2013 and June 30, 2013
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Claim Type Desc |
Number |
Paid Sum |
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Vehicle Towing/Impounding |
6 |
$5,553.16 |
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Property Damage - Forced Entry By Police |
8 |
$1,356.01 |
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Third Party Property Damage/Loss (Limited Use) |
2 |
$783.37 |
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Falling Ice, Snow, Debris - Third Party BI/PD |
1 |
$300.00 |
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Loss Involving Police Property Room |
1 |
$0.00 |
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Third Party Property Dmg. By Contracted Veh/Equip. |
0 |
$0.00 |
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Total Payments |
18 |
$7,992.54 |
As noted above, all Police-related claims are adjudicated based on the extent of the Board’s legal liability for the losses claimed. In some cases, this can be relatively straightforward, such as where a Police vehicle is involved in a collision with another vehicle. In such cases, the statutory rules governing the apportionment of liability determine the extent of the Board’s responsibility. In other cases, the Board’s liability is not so clearly defined and assessment of the claims may require an investigation of the circumstances giving rise to the loss and also of the Board’s statutory and common law obligations.
The reliance on legal liability as the basis for the evaluation of claims is in keeping with the provisions of the existing insurance policies and reflects the same considerations that would inform a legal assessment in the court system. It serves to ensure that, while claimants may feel that the Board is morally responsible for their loss, all claims are considered fairly and in accordance with the same legal criteria.
Notwithstanding the Claims Unit’s efforts, some claimants will disagree with the assessment of the extent of the Board’s legal responsibility for their losses. In such cases, the claim may become a lawsuit with the claimant commencing formal proceedings before the courts in an effort to obtain compensation. However, Legal Services’ integrated approach to dealing with claims, based on applying the same assessment criteria from receipt of a claim through to a full court proceeding, is designed to limit the overall legal costs of both claimants and the Board and to ensure fair and consistent treatment of claims submitted.
The majority of claims against the Board are initiated by way of a Statement of Claim, thus by-passing the claims review, investigation and adjudication process noted above.
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Type of Matter |
Number |
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Termination |
1 |
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Workplace Safety & Insurance Board |
17 |
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Ontario Human Rights Complaint |
21 |
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Other |
13 |
2013 Labour and Employment Law Matters
In addition to the above civil litigation claims, the City Clerk and Solicitor Department is currently managing 52 labour and employment law matters on behalf of the Police Services Board, with 13 new claims received in the second quarter of 2013. The adjacent list sets out the number of current labour and employment law matters by category or type. All of the labour and employment law matters are assigned to in-house Legal Counsel.
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
There were no significant issues to report in the second quarter of 2013.
CONSULTATION
As this report was administrative in nature, consultation was not required.
FINANCIAL STATEMENT
As presented in this report.
CONCLUSION
It is anticipated that the third quarter report for 2013 will be presented to the Board at its October 2013 meeting.
(Original signed by)
M. Rick O’Connor
Board Solicitor