Samuel Szu en Tam and Yu-ying Liao v Tracey Playne
Last updated: August 8, 2025
Order
Ordered by Renée Lang,Tribunals Ontario under Section 21.2, Statutory Powers Procedure Act
Decision in favor of
Landlord
Previous Order
Upheld
Dispute Categories
Subsections of RTA Quoted
Agree with the ruling?
Citation: Samuel Szu en Tam and Yu-ying Liao v Tracey Playne, LTB-L-090854-24-SA-RV
File Number: LTB-L-090854-24-SA-RV
Timeline
Order Date
Mar 17, 2025
Decision
The Tenant's request to review order LTB-L-090854-24-SA is denied. The previous order, which upheld the Tenant's eviction for breaching a prior condition, is confirmed and remains unchanged. The Board found the hearing Member's denial of the Tenant's adjournment request, based on an unsubstantiated claim of a bedbug infestation, was not a serious error.
Dispute
The Tenant requested a review of an order that had denied her motion to set aside an eviction. The eviction was based on the Tenant's failure to meet a condition from a prior order. The Tenant argued the Member erred by denying her request for an adjournment at the set-aside hearing, a request she made claiming a severe bedbug infestation had prevented her from sleeping. The Board denied the Tenant's review request, finding no serious error.
Determinations
- The Tenant requested an adjournment at a set-aside hearing, claiming she had been awake for 48 hours due to a severe bedbug infestation.
- The hearing Member denied the adjournment request.
- Adjournment decisions are discretionary and will only be overturned on review if found to be unreasonable.
- The Member's decision to deny the adjournment was not an unreasonable exercise of discretion.
- The Tenant's claim of a sudden, severe bedbug infestation was unsubstantiated and deemed 'extraordinary'.
- Denying the adjournment was reasonable to avoid further prejudice to the Landlords.
- The Tenant was not reasonably unable to participate in the proceeding.
- There was no serious error in the order or the proceedings.
Landlord's Arguments
Arguments
The Landlords' position, supported by the Board, was that further delays in the proceeding would be prejudicial to them.
Actions and Evidence
The Landlords initiated proceedings because the Tenant failed to meet a condition from a prior Board order. They were subject to multiple delay attempts by the Tenant.
Tenant's Arguments
Arguments
The Tenant argued that the Member seriously erred by denying her request for an adjournment, which meant she was not reasonably able to participate in the proceeding.
Actions and Evidence
The Tenant requested a review of an order denying her motion to set aside an eviction. At the set-aside hearing, she requested an adjournment because she 'had been awake for 48 hours due to a severe bedbug infestation.' She had previously made other requests to delay the hearing. The Board found her claim about the bedbugs 'extraordinary' and unsubstantiated.
Procedural Errors
The Tenant filed an incomplete request to reschedule one day before a hearing and failed to provide evidence to substantiate a different adjournment request made during the hearing.
Considerations
The Tenant made multiple requests to adjourn or reschedule for varying reasons, and the final reason (a sudden, severe bedbug infestation) was deemed not credible by the Board.
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