Adam J. Wygodny

At a contested status hearing, the plaintiff was required to show cause why its commercial lease dispute action should not be dismissed for delay under Rule 48.14(13).

The court applied the conjunctive test from Khan, finding the plaintiff provided an acceptable explanation for the delay and that the defendant would suffer no non-compensable prejudice.

The action was allowed to continue, and the registrar was ordered not to dismiss the action without further order of the court.

The appeal concerned interpretation of a land development agreement containing a purchase price adjustment clause tied to non-developable acreage and secured by a vendor take-back mortgage.

The application judge treated the fifth anniversary in the clause as a hard deadline, with time of the essence, and held the purchaser lost any right to a price reduction by failing to trigger the process by that date.

The Court of Appeal held that interpretation was commercially unreasonable and inconsistent with the agreement’s structure, the consultant-based determination mechanism, and the surrounding development context.

The fifth anniversary operated as an 'as of' valuation date for measuring non-developable land, not as a limitation-like deadline.

The appeal was allowed, the judgment below set aside, and the purchaser was declared entitled to a price reduction to be determined under the agreement.

The plaintiffs brought a motion for summary judgment seeking dismissal of the defendants’ counterclaim alleging malicious prosecution, unlawful interference with economic relations, and various claims for damages arising from an earlier injunction and the termination of a referral relationship.

The court held that the defendants failed to establish the elements required for malicious prosecution, particularly malice, and that the inclusion of parties in civil litigation was insufficient to ground such a claim.

Claims for intentional or unlawful interference with economic relations also failed because the evidence did not demonstrate an intention by the plaintiffs to cause economic harm.

The court further found that damages related to the interim injunction should be pursued through enforcement of the undertaking for damages rather than by counterclaim.

Partial summary judgment was granted dismissing most of the counterclaim, with leave granted to amend the counterclaim to seek damages tied specifically to the injunction period.

The applicant purchaser sought a declaration that a vendor take-back mortgage was paid in full, arguing that a price adjustment for non-developable land reduced the balance to zero.

The agreement of purchase and sale required the calculation of non-developable land to occur at the five-year anniversary of the mortgage, but the applicant missed this deadline, claiming it was impossible to determine due to ongoing environmental studies regarding an endangered minnow species.

The court dismissed the application, holding that time was of the essence and the unpredictable nature of the development approval process did not excuse the failure to adhere to the contractually stipulated timeline.

The respondent vendors' cross-application for payment of the outstanding mortgage balance was granted.

The applicant sought a declaration that a vendor take-back mortgage was paid in full, arguing that a price adjustment clause in the Agreement of Purchase and Sale reduced the outstanding balance to zero.

The agreement stipulated that the price adjustment, based on the ratio of non-developable land, was to be calculated at the end of the fifth year of the mortgage term.

The applicant missed this deadline, arguing it was impossible to determine the non-developable land due to ongoing environmental consultations regarding an endangered minnow species.

The court dismissed the application, holding that time was of the essence and the failure to invoke the price adjustment mechanism at the stipulated time precluded any adjustment.

The appellants appealed part of a Master's order denying their motion to dismiss the respondents' counterclaim in a mortgage enforcement action.

The appellants had obtained summary judgment on the main action but sought dismissal of counterclaim allegations including repayment of funds deducted from the mortgage advance and damages for vandalism, breach of contract, conspiracy, and breach of fiduciary duty.

The court held that the appellants failed to link their evidentiary record to the specific counterclaim allegations and therefore did not meet their burden on the summary judgment motion.

The Master correctly applied the governing legal principles and did not commit a palpable and overriding error or exercise discretion on wrong principles.

The appeal was dismissed and costs were awarded to the respondents.

The appellants appealed a Master’s order refusing to dismiss most aspects of a counterclaim on a summary judgment motion in a mortgage enforcement action.

The counterclaim alleged vandalism, burglary, trespass, breach of contract, conspiracy, and repayment of fees deducted from the mortgage advance.

The appellants argued that the Master misapprehended the evidence and improperly shifted the burden by requiring them to disprove the respondents’ allegations.

The court held that the appellants failed to adduce evidence specifically addressing several pleaded claims or linking their evidence to the alleged causes of action.

The Master applied the correct legal principles and committed no palpable and overriding error.

The moving party brought a motion pursuant to s. 21(5) of the Courts of Justice Act to set aside an order of Gans J. The Divisional Court considered the criteria for setting aside a Registrar's order, noting that the overriding consideration is what the justice of the case requires.

The court found that Gans J. was entitled to conclude there was insufficient evidence to relieve the appellant from the operation of the rules.

The motion was dismissed with costs payable from the estate and charged against the moving party's interest.