The appellants appealed a Small Claims Court decision finding the individual appellant personally liable on a credit application guarantee.
The appellants argued that trial fairness was compromised by the Deputy Judge's excessive intervention and cross-examination of witnesses.
The Divisional Court agreed, finding that the Deputy Judge crossed the line of permissible intervention by extensively cross-examining the appellants' witnesses and acting as a participant in the trial.
The appeal was allowed, the judgment set aside, and a new trial ordered before a different judge.
