Amanda McInnis

The applicant, Green Relief Inc., sought approval of a transaction for the sale of its assets to 2650064 Ontario Inc. in the course of a CCAA proceeding.

The transaction included a condition precedent releasing claims against current directors, legal counsel, the Monitor, and its counsel.

Certain founding shareholders opposed the release, arguing the court lacked jurisdiction to grant it prior to a plan of arrangement and that they wished to pursue claims for loss of chance.

The court approved the transaction and the release, finding the sale process was reasonable and the release was rationally connected to the restructuring, benefiting creditors by preventing the depletion of the estate through indemnity claims.

The court temporarily lifted the stay of proceedings to allow claims covered by tail insurance to be filed.

Her Majesty the Queen in right of Ontario sought to lift a stay on its $330 billion health care cost recovery action against three tobacco companies (JTI-Macdonald Corp., Imperial Tobacco, Rothmans, Benson & Hedges Inc.) and eleven co-defendants, which was imposed under CCAA proceedings.

Ontario proposed to temporarily stay the effects of any judgment.

The court dismissed the motion, emphasizing the need to preserve the status quo in CCAA proceedings to facilitate a global resolution of significant claims.

Allowing Ontario's action to proceed would alter the level playing field, distract from restructuring efforts, and impose significant costs, prejudicing other stakeholders.

The appellants appealed the motion judge's decision refusing to dismiss a defamation action under the Anti-SLAPP provisions of the Courts of Justice Act.

The respondents, a cigarette manufacturer and its CEO, sued over a magazine article published by the appellants that connected them to organized crime, terrorism, and tobacco smuggling.

The motion judge found the action had substantial merit, that no valid defences existed, and that the harm to the respondents outweighed the public interest in protecting the appellants' expression.

The appellants argued the motion judge erred in balancing public interests, in assessing harm without evidence of financial loss, and in rejecting the justification defence.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, upholding the motion judge's decision.

The plaintiff, Sky High Roofing & Sheet Metal Inc., brought a motion for an interim order under Rule 44 for the return of three pieces of equipment from the defendant, Scott Bennett.

The equipment was initially delivered to the defendant for storage, and while discussions about a potential purchase occurred, no written agreement was finalized.

The court found a triable issue regarding whether a purchase agreement was ever reached and that the plaintiff failed to establish unlawful detention by the defendant, a prerequisite for relief under Rule 44.01.

The motion was dismissed, and the plaintiff was ordered to pay costs to the defendant.

The defendant Debra Penman moved to strike the plaintiff's statement of claim for failing to disclose a reasonable cause of action.

The plaintiff Mary Lou McGillvray brought a cross-motion for leave to amend.

The court granted the plaintiff leave to further amend her claim to sue in her capacity as trustee for unjust enrichment.

This endorsement addresses the costs of these motions.

The court found that the motions were necessary due to the plaintiff's failure to adequately respond to the defendant's warnings about the deficient claim.

Despite the plaintiff obtaining leave to amend, the defendant's motion was necessary to clarify the cause of action.

The defendant Debra Penman was awarded costs on a partial indemnity basis, fixed at $5,000.00, payable in any event of the cause at the conclusion of the trial.

Following an application concerning the seizure of cigarettes under the Tobacco Tax Act, the applicant succeeded on a Charter challenge under s. 8 and obtained a remedy under s. 24(1) of the Charter requiring the return of seized cigarettes or payment of their value.

However, the respondents succeeded on the statutory interpretation issues under the Tobacco Tax Act.

The court considered costs pursuant to s. 131 of the Courts of Justice Act and Rule 57.01 of the Rules of Civil Procedure.

Exercising its discretion to allocate costs by issue, the court declined to award costs for the statutory issues and limited recovery to the Charter portion of the proceeding.

An all‑inclusive costs award of $50,000 was ordered.

A tobacco manufacturer sought declarations that a shipment of unmarked cigarettes seized by authorities under the Tobacco Tax Act was unlawfully seized and that it had a right to possess the tobacco.

The court found that the warrantless search and seizure of a delivery vehicle violated s. 8 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms because the detention and search occurred without reasonable and probable grounds and because the authorized official improperly directed police remotely.

Although the court held that the applicant’s operations demonstrated substantial non‑compliance with the Tobacco Tax Act and its permit conditions, the Charter breach justified a remedy.

The court ordered the return of the seized cigarettes belonging to the applicant or compensation for their value if they had deteriorated.