Ari J. Singer

The plaintiff, Sema Cetin, brought a motion to lift a stay of proceedings in her professional negligence action against her former lawyers, Thomas Percival, Jason Lam, and Krylov and Company.

The stay was initially granted by consent, pending the 'outcome of the trial' of a related motor vehicle action.

The motor vehicle action subsequently settled, leading the defendants to argue the stay was permanent as no trial occurred.

The court interpreted the consent order broadly, considering the surrounding circumstances and correspondence between counsel, finding that 'outcome' included settlement.

The court also applied the 'interests of justice' test, concluding that lifting the stay was necessary to allow the plaintiff's professional negligence claim to be determined on its merits, despite the defendants' arguments regarding prejudice and the extinguishment of claims.

Stephanie Becker, a 14-year-old, was severely injured by shattering glass at a community centre.

She sued the City of Toronto for negligence under the Occupiers’ Liability Act, alleging the glass in an office door was annealed glass, not the required tempered safety glass.

The court found the City breached its duty of care by installing annealed glass, which did not meet minimum building code standards.

The injury was found to be caused by this breach and was reasonably foreseeable given the public nature of the centre and minimal supervision.

Damages were settled, and the case proceeded on liability.

This is a costs endorsement following the dismissal of a motion for summary judgment brought by the defendants, Joe Avila and Sonia Avila (the "Hosts").

The plaintiff, Luis Avila, successfully opposed the summary judgment motion and sought costs of $25,000.00.

The defendants argued for no costs or a reduced amount of $10,500.00, citing the reusability of work for the continuing trial against the third defendant, Rui Couto.

The court, applying principles from the Courts of Justice Act and Rule 57.01, awarded the plaintiff partial indemnity costs of $12,500.00 plus disbursements of $1,341.95, acknowledging some efficiencies for trial but rejecting the argument to defer all costs.

The defendants Joe Avila and Sonia Avila (the "Hosts") brought a motion for summary judgment to dismiss the plaintiff Luis Avila's claim against them.

The claim alleged social host liability for injuries Luis Avila sustained during a physical interaction with another guest, Rui Couto, at a birthday party hosted by the Avilas.

The court found genuine issues requiring a trial, particularly regarding the foreseeability of harm, Couto's intoxication and behaviour, and the Hosts' awareness, which involved credibility determinations.

Given that the action would continue against Couto, granting partial summary judgment against the Hosts carried a risk of duplicative proceedings and inconsistent factual findings, which was deemed not to be in the interests of justice.

The motion was dismissed.

The plaintiff brought a motion for default judgment against her husband, the defendant, for damages arising from his attempted murder of her.

The defendant had previously pled guilty to attempted murder and was sentenced to 11 years imprisonment.

The court awarded the plaintiff damages for pain and suffering, past and future care costs, past and future loss of income, aggravated damages, and punitive damages, totaling $1,127,730.83 plus costs.