Andrew Scott

The plaintiffs and defendants brought a motion to enforce a settlement agreement reached between the parties, including the third party 1671233 Ontario Limited (167). 167's insurer had appointed counsel who agreed to the settlement on 167's behalf, but 167 subsequently refused to sign the release and issued a fourth party claim.

The court found that a valid settlement agreement was reached by counsel with ostensible authority.

Applying the factors from Milios v. Zagas, the court exercised its discretion under Rule 49.09 to enforce the settlement, finding it clear, reasonable, and not unduly prejudicial to 167.

Consequently, 167 was ordered to execute the release and its fourth party claim was stayed.

Following a judge-alone criminal trial, the court considered disputed counts arising from an accused's conduct while subject to a long term supervision order at a community correctional centre.

The Crown proved that the accused used multiple cell phones and text-message deception to impersonate a real person known to the complainant, thereby inducing her to agree to sexual intercourse she would not otherwise have permitted.

The court also accepted the complainant's evidence that she was drugged and sexually assaulted in a hotel room, and that additional non-consensual sexual touching occurred during a later arranged sexual encounter whose scope had been strictly limited.

Applying the W.(D.) framework and the principle that delayed disclosure does not undermine credibility, the court convicted on the disputed counts and confirmed guilt on the conceded supervision-order breaches.

The accused, subject to a Long Term Supervision Order (LTSO), was arrested on a suspension warrant after being found at an unauthorized location with an unauthorized female.

Upon arrest, a concealed, unauthorized cell phone was found on his person.

Parole officers conducted a cursory search of the phone to check for LTSO compliance.

Later, a parole officer interviewed the accused without informing him that he was also under police investigation for sexual assault and personation.

The accused brought a Charter application to exclude his statements and the cell phone evidence.

The court held that the failure to inform the accused of the new criminal jeopardy before the interview violated his s. 10 rights, and excluded those statements under s. 24(2).

However, the court found no s. 8 violation regarding the cell phone search, as the accused had no reasonable expectation of privacy in the unauthorized phone and the parole officers' search was lawful for compliance purposes.

The appellant appealed a two-year firearms prohibition order made after police apprehended him during an alcohol-fuelled suicidal crisis and seized numerous firearms from his residence.

The appeal challenged whether the evidence at the hearing established that it remained in the interests of his safety and the public safety to prohibit possession under s. 111 of the Criminal Code.

Applying a deferential appellate standard and the framework governing s. 111 applications, the court held the application judge reasonably relied on the appellant's unresolved alcohol and mental health concerns.

The appeal was dismissed.

The accused was convicted by a jury of multiple historical sexual assaults and an indecent assault committed against three young female family members over extended periods when they were children or teenagers.

The offences involved repeated abuse of trust by an uncle and included acts of sexual touching, sexual intercourse, exposure, and grooming behaviour occurring in family homes over many years.

The court considered the severe psychological and social impact on the victims, the abuse of trust, the young age of the victims, and the offender’s prior sexual assault conviction as significant aggravating factors.

Emphasizing denunciation and deterrence in sentencing for sexual offences against children, the court imposed a substantial penitentiary sentence along with several ancillary orders.

The appellant appealed his convictions for assault with a weapon and assault causing bodily harm arising from a bar altercation in which a bouncer was struck with a brick.

The appellant argued the verdict was unreasonable and unsupported by the evidence, particularly because the trial judge rejected portions of eyewitness testimony and relied heavily on a brief surveillance video.

The appellate court reviewed the video evidence and the trial judge’s reasoning, including the finding that the footage established a chain of events leading from the blow to the victim immediately pinning the accused to the ground.

Applying the principles governing convictions based on video evidence, the court held the verdict was one that a properly instructed trier of fact could reasonably reach.

The conviction was therefore upheld.

The appellant appealed his convictions for sexual assault and threatening conduct, arguing the trial judge erred in assessing the complainant's credibility by overemphasizing her demeanour, failing to reconcile inconsistencies in her statements, and making unsupported factual findings.

The Superior Court of Justice dismissed the appeal, finding the trial judge properly considered the inconsistencies as minor and contextualized them within the complainant's emotional state.

The court held there was no palpable and overriding error in the trial judge's credibility findings and the verdict was reasonable and supported by the evidence.

The 74-year-old accused was convicted of incest, sexual assault, and sexual interference involving his sister, niece, and great-niece over a 46-year period.

The Crown sought a 3-year penitentiary sentence, while the defence sought a conditional sentence.

The court found a conditional sentence inappropriate due to the gravity of the offences, the breach of trust, and the need for denunciation and deterrence.

The accused was sentenced to a global term of 3 years in penitentiary, along with ancillary orders including a 10-year weapons prohibition, a 10-year s. 161 prohibition, a DNA order, and a lifetime SOIRA order.