Court Orders In Ontario Civil Litigation

Published on May 6, 2026

When you are in the middle of a legal dispute, one of the most important questions you can ask is: how fast can the court actually do something?

The answer depends entirely on what kind of order you need.

1. Consent Orders

A consent order is an order that both parties have agreed to. Rather than fighting over the issue in court, the parties reach an agreement and ask the judge to formalize it as a court order — giving it the full force and enforceability of a judicial decision.

Consent orders are common at settlement, during case management, or when parties agree on a procedural step; for example, agreeing on a deadline extension, a discovery schedule, or the terms of an interim arrangement while the case proceeds.

2. Interlocutory Orders

An interlocutory order is a temporary order made during the course of ongoing litigation — before the case is finally resolved. It is designed to manage the dispute and protect the parties’ interests while the matter works its way through the court system.

Common types of interlocutory orders include:

Injunctions: ordering someone to stop doing something or to take a specific action while the case proceeds.
Preservation orders: requiring assets to be maintained or not disposed of pending the outcome.
Production orders: compelling a party to disclose documents or information.
Security for costs orders: requiring a party to post security before continuing the litigation.

Interlocutory orders are powerful but temporary. They preserve the status quo until trial; they do not resolve the underlying dispute. The party who obtains an interlocutory injunction, for example, still has to win at trial to make that protection permanent.

3. Without Notice Orders

Also called an ex parte order, a without notice order is granted by the court before the other side has been served or given a chance to respond. This is the most urgent type of order available in Ontario civil litigation.

Without notice orders are reserved for genuine emergencies — situations where notifying the other side in advance would defeat the entire purpose of the order. Common examples include:

A Mareva injunction to freeze assets before they are hidden or transferred out of the jurisdiction.
An injunction to stop a former employee from immediately contacting clients in breach of a non-solicitation agreement.
An order to preserve evidence that is about to be destroyed.
A real estate order to prevent a property from being sold before a dispute is resolved.

Without notice orders come with serious responsibilities. The party seeking the order must make full and frank disclosure to the court — including anything that might hurt their case. Failing to do so can result in the order being set aside entirely.

The other side also has the right to bring an urgent motion to set aside or vary the order once they are served. Without notice orders are therefore not final; they are a bridge to a full hearing where both sides can be heard.

In almost all cases, the party obtaining a without notice injunction must also give an undertaking in damages: a promise to compensate the other side if it later turns out the order should not have been granted.

4. Final Orders

A final order is issued at the conclusion of a proceeding: after a full trial, a summary judgment motion, or another dispositive hearing. It permanently resolves the rights and obligations of the parties on the issues decided. Final orders are often the result of the full litigation process.

What Happens When Someone Ignores A Court Order?

Ignoring a court order in Ontario may lead to contempt of court: a serious matter with material consequences. A party found in contempt can face:

Fines — financial penalties imposed by the court.
Imprisonment — in serious cases, a party can be jailed for contempt.
Costs awards — being ordered to pay the other side’s legal costs of the contempt motion.
Striking of pleadings — in some cases, the court can strike a party’s claim or defence entirely as a consequence of non-compliance.
Adverse inferences — where a party ignores a production order, courts can draw negative inferences against them at trial.