Adam Stephens

The succeeding estate trustees moved under Rule 59.06 to vary prior costs awards made after dismissal of their contempt motion regarding document production under an estate judgment.

They argued accidental slip, omission, and newly discovered facts, including post-endorsement waiver of privilege over lawyer file materials.

The court held Rule 59.06 is exceptional, does not permit a re-argument or review of judicial reasoning, and found no error in expressing the court’s manifest intention.

The court also found no new fact justifying variation and dismissed the motion.

The plaintiffs moved for an interlocutory injunction to restrain the defendants, who were former tenants of a farm property, from continuing an online harassment campaign against the landlord's principal.

The defendants had posted numerous YouTube videos containing threats, defamatory statements, and vulgar language aimed at coercing a settlement.

The court recognized the emerging tort of internet harassment and granted the injunction, finding that the defendants' conduct was intended to cause fear and anxiety and went beyond the bounds of decency.

The applicants sought an urgent hearing under the Vendors and Purchasers Act to determine the validity of title requisitions submitted by the purchaser two weeks before the closing date of a real estate transaction.

The requisitions concerned a potential heritage designation, knob and tube wiring, and an underground oil tank.

The court denied the request for an urgent hearing, finding that the urgency was self-induced by the parties agreeing to a late requisition date.

The court held that the matter was not truly urgent and did not justify jumping the queue of backlogged civil cases.

Following a 38-day trial where the plaintiff's claim was dismissed, the successful defendant sought costs of over $2.2 million on a partial indemnity basis, but argued for substantial indemnity costs from the date the plaintiff amended its pleadings to allege bias and conspiracy.

The court denied substantial indemnity costs, finding the plaintiff's allegations were not made recklessly or without evidentiary foundation.

The court upheld the defendant's significant e-discovery disbursements as reasonable but ordered the defendant to produce redacted dockets for the plaintiff's review before finalizing the fee award.

The plaintiff, a construction company, sued the defendant municipality after being disqualified from a Request for Proposals (RFP) process for a City Hall expansion.

The plaintiff alleged that the municipality acted in bad faith and with bias when it disqualified the plaintiff for refusing to sign a confidentiality agreement and for communicating directly with City Council.

The Superior Court of Justice dismissed the action, finding that the plaintiff had breached the clear terms of the RFP and that the municipality's decision to disqualify the plaintiff was fair, made in good faith, and based on the advice of an independent fairness advisor.

The court also held that even if the municipality had breached the RFP, the plaintiff would only be entitled to reliance damages, not expectation damages for lost profits.

A case conference endorsement in a commercial dispute over a $10 million commission.

The plaintiff sought to proceed to mediation, which the defendants opposed.

The court declined to order mediation for unwilling commercial parties, noting it would waste time and money.

The court issued general case management directions and specific deadlines for the examination for discovery of a third party and for the defendants to answer overdue undertakings.

The plaintiffs brought a motion to adjourn an eight‑week civil trial scheduled on the running list while appeals were pending concerning a refusal to amend the statement of claim and to admit late expert valuation reports.

The defendants opposed the adjournment, arguing the appeals would not materially affect the trial and proposing procedural alternatives such as hearing evidence and awaiting appellate outcomes or bifurcating liability and damages.

Applying the principles governing adjournments, including the objective of deciding matters on their substantive merits and considerations of prejudice and fairness, the court found the pending appeals could significantly affect the pleadings and expert evidence at trial.

The court concluded that proceeding before those issues were resolved risked inefficient and potentially unfair proceedings.

The trial was therefore adjourned pending the appellate process.

The plaintiffs brought a motion for approval of a settlement in a certified securities class action, approval of class counsel's fees, and payment of honoraria to the representative plaintiffs.

The action alleged misrepresentations and failure to disclose material changes regarding a major contract.

The court reviewed the proposed settlement of USD$3.5 million, the requested class counsel fees of 30% of the recovery, and the honoraria.

Applying the relevant legal tests, the court found the settlement to be fair, reasonable, and in the best interests of the class, and approved the settlement, fees, and honoraria.

In an application concerning hydro-electric property tax exemptions under section 3(1), paragraph 18 of the Assessment Act, the court determined that most disputed station components qualified as machinery and equipment used for producing electricity for sale to the general public.

The court rejected a narrow interpretation requiring direct transformation use and held all power produced at the stations met the sale-to-general-public requirement.

The court also held the applicant could not rely on paragraph 17 as an alternative exemption route.

Due conflicting expert evidence, the scope of exempt foundations required further expert process and a trial on that issue.