4 total
The court refused to stay a Landlord and Tenant Board eviction application pending a concurrent Superior Court ownership dispute.
The plaintiff, Avi Berger, moved to stay a Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) application pending the outcome of his Superior Court action, in which he claims a beneficial ownership interest in the property at issue.
The defendant Sammie Millis, the current owner, opposed the motion.
The court dismissed the motion, finding that the LTB has sole jurisdiction over tenancy and eviction matters, and that the Superior Court action regarding beneficial ownership can proceed independently.
The court found no special circumstances to warrant a stay and held that granting one would be unjust to the landlord.
The court dismissed the defendants' motions for summary judgment in a defamation action due to significant credibility issues and factual disputes.
The defendants, Wildwood by the Lake Leaseholders Association and three individual board members, moved for summary dismissal of two actions brought by the plaintiff, a former board member.
The plaintiff alleged defamation arising from an investigation into her alteration of a job description document and subsequent reprimand.
The court dismissed the summary judgment motions, finding substantial factual disputes and witness credibility issues that require a trial.
The judge emphasized that the case was not suitable for summary judgment, particularly given the need for credibility assessments and the potential for the defence of qualified privilege to be defeated by malice or by exceeding the scope of the privilege.
The court also reiterated the Court of Appeal's caution against granting partial summary judgment.
Court grants substantive relief at case conference to prevent 14-month delay and combat motions culture.
The applicant, a 20% shareholder and former director of the respondent corporation, sought production of financial statements and an order for a shareholders' meeting.
The matter was directed to a case conference under a new Toronto Civil List policy for short applications.
The respondents sought a last-minute adjournment citing a vague medical note, which the court denied due to a history of delay.
Applying the principle of proportionality and the need for a culture shift in civil justice, the court held it was appropriate to grant the substantive relief requested directly at the case conference rather than forcing the applicant to wait 14 months for a formal hearing.
Stay of proceedings granted for impaired driving charges due to 22.71-month net trial delay.
The applicant, charged with impaired driving offences, brought an application for a stay of proceedings under s. 24(1) of the Charter, alleging an infringement of his right to be tried within a reasonable time under s. 11(b).
The total delay from the laying of the Information to the anticipated end of trial was 1675 days.
After deducting 774 days of defence-caused delay and 210 days of exceptional circumstances due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the remaining net delay was 691 days (22.71 months).
As this exceeded the 18-month presumptive ceiling for the Ontario Court of Justice, the court found the delay unreasonable and granted a stay of proceedings.
