Albert Brunet

The decision addresses two motions in a commercial real estate dispute: a motion to strike claims against individual condominium directors, and a motion for production of documents.

The court struck the claims against the directors but granted the plaintiff leave to amend, finding the pleadings did not sufficiently distinguish the directors’ conduct from that of the corporation.

The court also dismissed the plaintiff’s production motion, holding that privilege over communications with counsel and the property manager was not waived by the addition of the property manager as a third party.

The ruling clarifies the high threshold for personal liability of condominium directors and the scope of privilege in multi-party litigation.

This decision concerns an anti-SLAPP motion brought by the defendants, Trinitee Okoye and Olivia Singaye, seeking to stay or dismiss a defamation action by the plaintiffs, Reynolds Okoh, Axel Mensah, and 2357392 Ontario Inc. o/a The Palace Ottawa.

The court found that the impugned social media posts did not constitute expression on a matter of public interest within the meaning of section 137.1 of the Courts of Justice Act.

Even if the threshold were met, the court held that the action had substantial merit and the defences of justification and fair comment were unlikely to succeed.

The motion was dismissed.

The appellant appealed a summary judgment decision that dismissed his action based on the defence of qualified privilege.

The Court of Appeal found no errors of law, legal principle, or palpable and overriding errors of fact in the motion judge's decision to proceed by summary judgment or in her analysis of qualified privilege.

The court also rejected the appellant's argument that the hearing was unfair.

The appeal was dismissed with costs.

This costs endorsement addresses the entitlement and quantum of costs following the successful anti-SLAPP motion by the Canadian Anti-Hate Network and Bernie Farber.

The court awards full indemnity costs of $49,319.13 to the moving parties, finding no basis to depart from the statutory presumption under s. 137.1(7) of the Courts of Justice Act.

The decision reviews the relevant factors for costs, including proportionality, complexity, and settlement offers, and finds the amount sought to be fair and reasonable in the circumstances.

The court granted the application of the Sunset Lakes Owners Association (SLOA) for a mandatory injunction requiring the respondents, Todd and Erika Gingras, to remove a fence and shed that encroached on SLOA-owned property and an easement.

The decision addresses whether the respondents had approval to build, whether the structures constituted actionable encroachments, and whether the restrictive covenants were enforceable.

The court found that the respondents did not have approval, the structures substantially interfered with SLOA’s easement rights, and the restrictive covenants were valid and enforceable.

Costs were awarded to SLOA.

Following the dismissal of the plaintiff's action after a three-week trial, the successful defendant sought costs on a substantial indemnity basis.

The defendant argued the plaintiff made unfounded allegations of dishonesty and that a nominal settlement offer showed the plaintiff knew the claim lacked merit.

The court rejected the request for substantial indemnity costs, finding that while the plaintiff's allegations were not proven, he sincerely believed them and had some basis for his perception.

The court also held that settlement offers should not be used as evidence that a party believes their case lacks merit.

The court awarded the defendant partial indemnity costs fixed at $150,152.65.

The plaintiff, a lawyer, sued his former firm for breach of contract regarding the transfer of client files and wills upon his departure, and for various accounting discrepancies.

The court found that despite being an "independent practitioner" by contract, the plaintiff's practice was highly integrated with the firm, creating obligations and potential liability for the firm towards clients.

Therefore, the firm was entitled to require client directives for file transfers.

The court dismissed the claim for damages related to loss of productivity.

The court also dismissed the financial claims, finding they were not properly pleaded and were statute-barred.

The court rejected the plaintiff's conspiracy theory regarding the firm attempting to appropriate his clientele.

This case concerns an anti-SLAPP motion brought by the Canadian Anti-Hate Network (CAHN) and Bernie Farber against multiple plaintiffs who initiated a $44 million action following the Ottawa protests and the invocation of the Emergencies Act.

The plaintiffs alleged defamation and civil conspiracy, claiming CAHN provided false information to government and police, influencing the emergency measures and freezing of assets.

The court dismissed the action against CAHN, finding the plaintiffs failed to particularize their claims, lacked substantial merit, and could not overcome valid defences such as non-compliance with notice periods under the Libel and Slander Act and the Limitations Act.

The court also determined that the public interest in protecting CAHN's expression on a matter of public interest outweighed the harm alleged by the plaintiffs, and declined to award damages to CAHN.

The plaintiff, Gabriel J. Martel, brought a defamation action against the City of Ottawa and Jeff DeLoyde.

The defendants moved for summary judgment, relying on the defence of qualified privilege.

The court found that the impugned communications (a Vendor Performance Management report and a Notice of Non-Performance) were made on occasions of qualified privilege, arising from the contractual and business-to-business relationship between the City and ASCO Construction Ltd. (Martel's employer), and in the construction context, including complaints to Martel's employer.

The court also found no evidence of malice to defeat the privilege and that the privilege was not exceeded.

Consequently, the defence of qualified privilege was found to be entirely dispositive of the plaintiff's claims.

The defendants' motion for summary judgment was granted, and the action was dismissed with costs awarded to the defendants.

The appellant, Dr. Kulvinder Kaur Gill, appealed the dismissal of her defamation, conspiracy, and negligence claims against four defendants (Dr. Angus Maciver, André Picard, Carly Weeks, and Alheli Picazo) under Ontario's anti-SLAPP legislation (s. 137.1 of the Courts of Justice Act), and the associated costs order totaling over $1.1 million.

The Court of Appeal upheld the motion judge's decision, finding that the claims were strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs).

The court affirmed that the "fair comment" defence was prima facie available to Picard, Weeks, and Picazo, and that the appellant failed to demonstrate "serious harm" causally linked to the defendants' expressions, which would outweigh the public interest in protecting free expression.

The court also upheld the substantial indemnity costs award, distinguishing the case from general guidance due to its complexity and the number of defendants.

The Pointer Group Incorporated brought a motion for security for costs of the appeal and the underlying action and anti-SLAPP motion, pursuant to Rule 61.06(1)(a) and (c) of the Rules of Civil Procedure.

The moving party argued the appeal was frivolous and vexatious and that the appellant, Dr. Kulvinder Kaur Gill, had insufficient assets.

The court dismissed the motion, finding that the moving party failed to demonstrate that the appeal was both frivolous and vexatious, or that Dr. Gill had insufficient assets.

The court also found no "other good reason" to order security for costs, as the appeal presented arguable errors of law and there was no indication of vexatious conduct or difficulty in collecting costs from Dr. Gill.

Dr. Gill was awarded partial indemnity costs of $5,000 for the motion.

The applicant law firm was the victim of a wire transfer fraud, resulting in trust funds being erroneously transferred to a corporate bank account controlled by the respondent.

The bank froze the remaining funds.

The applicant brought an application for the return of the funds paid under a mistake of fact.

The court found that the funds were paid under a mistake of fact, the applicant did not intend for the respondent to receive the funds, and there was no consideration.

The respondent failed to establish a change of position defence.

The court ordered the bank to release the funds to the applicant.

The plaintiff brought a motion to amend his statement of claim and to continue the action under the simplified procedure, just weeks before a scheduled six-day trial.

The court granted leave to amend the pleadings, finding that the amendments arose from the same factual matrix and would not cause prejudice that could not be compensated by costs or an adjournment.

However, the court dismissed the request to continue under the simplified procedure, noting the motion was brought late in breach of a pre-trial order and that it would be unfair to the defendant to change the procedure solely to allow the plaintiff to avoid adverse costs consequences.

The garnishee brought a motion to reinstate its appeal of an associate judge's order, which had been struck by the registrar for failure to file a motion confirmation form.

The creditor brought a cross-motion to strike the garnishee's affidavit and for judgment.

The court found that the Rules of Civil Procedure do not clearly require a motion confirmation form for an appeal of an interlocutory order of an associate judge, and the creditor should have consented to the reinstatement.

The court granted the motion to reinstate the appeal and dismissed the creditor's motion.

The defendants, a national broadcaster and its employees, brought a motion to dismiss the plaintiff's defamation action under the anti-SLAPP provisions of the Courts of Justice Act.

The plaintiff, a student travel company, alleged that the defendants' reporting on the death of a student during a trip was defamatory.

The court found that the expression related to a matter of public interest and that the plaintiff failed to show there was no valid defence, specifically the defence of fair comment.

The court also found the balance of harms favoured protecting the expression, and dismissed the action.

The plaintiff initiated an action for defamation and malicious confinement against his sister, the defendant.

He brought a motion for document production from various police and security organizations.

The defendant, noted in default, sought to set aside the default and file a statement of defense, and also requested the court to consider the action vexatious under Rule 2.1.01.

The court struck the plaintiff's statement of claim as frivolous and vexatious, granting leave to amend it within 30 days, failing which the action would be permanently stayed.

The defendant was granted leave to file a statement of defense after the amended claim.

The plaintiff's motion for document production was not entertained until pleadings are closed.

The court declined to apply Rule 2.1.01 at this stage.

No costs were awarded.