Mayor Rob Ford’s future as mayor — or ex-mayor — will be determined in a Toronto courtroom on Monday.

Ford plans to attend the proceedings but wouldn’t comment further when pressed by reporters Friday at Earl Bales Park in North York, where the mayor participated in the opening of a new $2.3 million chair lift at the ski hill.

“I’ll be in court on Monday,” Ford said. “I can just say I’m going to be there and unfortunately I can’t comment on the appeal.”

If he were to lose the appeal, Ford waffled over whether he would prefer holding a mayoral by-election or whether he would urge council to appoint him as mayor until the next scheduled election in October, 2014.

Ford said he’ll run in a byelection — costing $7 million or more — if council decides to go that route. He has also indicated he would want council to appoint him.

Asked Friday about his support for an appointment, Ford adopted a more neutral stance.

“If that’s what council decides, that’s what they decide. Obviously, that would save a lot of money. If they don’t decide to do that, then they would have a byelection. Whatever council wants to decide, but let’s just see what happens with the appeal first.”

Ford’s lawyer Alan Lenczner will try to persuade a panel of three Divisional Court judges to overturn a bombshell November ruling that Ford breached provincial conflict of interest law at a February city council meeting and must vacate his office.

A court official said Friday the appeal panel will be: Regional Senior Justice Edward Then; Justice Lynne Leitch; and Justice Katherine Swinton.

To save Ford’s job, Lenczner must convince them that Superior Court Justice Charles Hackland made an error in law. In a factum filed last month, Lenczner argues Hackland made four of them.

Clayton Ruby, the lawyer acting for Toronto resident Paul Magder who successfully launched the conflict of interest suit and grilled Ford in court for hours, will try to convince the panel the ruling should stand.

Lenczner has predicted Ford — and the rest of the city — will wait about three weeks before the appeal court releases its decision.

If Ford wins, he remains mayor.

If he loses, he is out of office. Deputy Mayor Doug Holyday would take over temporarily and councillors would have to vote on whether to select the next mayor through a council vote appointing a caretaker to fulfill Ford’s term — potentially Ford himself — or to launch a mayoral byelection.

With files from Daniel Dale