Arina Joanisse

The plaintiffs, as judgment creditors, previously obtained a civil contempt order against the defendant judgment debtor for concealing income and moving assets to defeat his creditors.

The penalty phase was adjourned to allow the defendant to purge his contempt by paying $112,623.

The defendant paid the amount in full, albeit past the deadline.

The court determined the appropriate sentence for the contempt, weighing mitigating factors (purging the contempt, no prior record, apology) against aggravating factors (intentional and long-running misconduct).

The court ordered the defendant to complete 75 hours of volunteer community service over six months.

Following a motion for an interlocutory injunction relating to access to a disputed property, the court had granted temporary relief preserving the status quo pending a future motion to vacate a certificate of pending litigation.

The moving party sought substantial indemnity costs, arguing it had been successful on the motion.

The responding parties argued that costs should be reserved because the interim order did not finally determine the merits and was granted only pending the return of the injunction motion.

The court agreed that a proper assessment of success required fuller consideration of the merits and therefore reserved the costs of the motion to the judge hearing the motion on its return.

The plaintiff sought an interlocutory injunction preventing the defendants from entering or conducting demolition activities on a property following a power of sale transaction that the plaintiff alleged was improvident and non-arm’s length.

The court applied the three-part test for interlocutory injunctions and found there was a serious issue to be tried regarding whether the plaintiff retained an interest in the property.

Given existing demolition preparations and the plaintiff’s development plans, the court found a risk of irreparable harm and that the balance of convenience favoured temporary restraint.

The court granted a limited interlocutory injunction pending further proceedings relating to a motion to vacate a certificate of pending litigation.