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Masters
Senior Master F.A. (Rick) Lee
Master Errick Harrison
Master Carol W. Sharp
Master Joy Cooper
Master Shayne Berthaudin
The Masters are judicial officers appointed pursuant to The
Court of Queen's Bench Act with jurisdiction prescribed by legislation
including the Queen's Bench Rules. The Masters have extensive
jurisdiction with respect to court motions and references, which
may be directed by judges of the Court of Queen's Bench. There
is no monetary limit to the jurisdiction of Masters.
The Masters deal with a wide variety of family law matters including the
conduct of Family Property Act references, striking out improper
evidence from affidavits filed in family law cases (expungement),
and presiding over various family law motions, Maintenance Enforcement
court and Child Protection screening court.
The Masters do not deal with criminal matters but preside over a number of matters
in the General Division of the Court of Queen's Bench including
the passing of accounts in estate and committeeship cases. The
Masters hear all Fee Assessment References where clients dispute
the accounts rendered by their lawyers.
The Masters are also appointed Registrars in Bankruptcy and preside over most of the
court proceedings under the federal Bankruptcy and Insolvency
Act. These include Bankrupt Discharge applications, hearings
for advice and directions, appeals of Trustee Disallowances,
and the Taxation of the accounts of Trustees and Insolvency lawyers.
The decisions of Masters may be appealed to a judge of the
Court of Queen's Bench. New evidence may be presented for the
appeal hearing, which is different from the appeal process of
a decision of a Queen's Bench judge.
When a Master conducts a reference, a report must be prepared at the conclusion. The
report is subject to a confirmation process before it has any
legal effect. Once confirmed, it becomes an order of the Court.
The confirmation of a report may be opposed, in which case the
matter will be considered by a judge of the Court of Queen's
Bench.
Last Revised: May 26, 2010