We expect that arguments will be made to the Court before Christmas concerning what the declaration should be, i.e. what sections of the law will be struck or modified and whether this will apply retrospectively.
We expect the Government to take the position that the decision applies from this point forward. There has also been a rumor that the Government would concede that anyone who filed a Petition to review the OSMV decision would be entitled to a remedy. This suggests that they will oppose a blanket remedy for everyone who received an IRP.
We see only two categories of individuals: those who applied for an OSMV review and those who didn’t.
Bearing in mind that anyone can file a Petition to review the OSMV decision, few would not go ahead and do so now that they know that they can make the same argument and obtain the same remedy. The Government may take the position, however, that they can save money if they force people to Petition because a number of people will have no idea that they have a remedy.
If you did not apply to review the decision before the OSMV, in our opinion you still may be entitled to a remedy. The problem is that extra steps need to be taken right away.
In any event, we may not receive a decision of the Court immediately. The issues are complex, and the decision will have unintended consequences. As we noted earlier, striking our key provisions of the “fail” or “refuse” section of the legislation will impact how “warn” cases are handled, for example.