Benjamin Kates

The defendants sought leave to appeal to the Divisional Court from a motion judge’s decision partially refusing to strike portions of a statement of claim under Rule 21.

The defendants argued that certain claims relating to the plaintiff’s removal from political office were non‑justiciable due to Crown prerogative and that references to testimony before a Parliamentary Committee were barred by parliamentary privilege.

The court held that the low threshold for surviving a pleadings motion meant the motion judge’s rulings were not open to serious debate.

The court further held that potential conflicts between parliamentary privilege and solicitor‑client privilege could appropriately be addressed at trial on a full evidentiary record.

The defendants brought a motion under Rule 21.01(b) of the Rules of Civil Procedure to strike portions of an amended statement of claim alleging breach of solicitor-client duties and defamation.

The court considered challenges including alleged non‑justiciable claims tied to parliamentary and executive privilege, insufficient particulars in the libel pleadings, prior determinations that certain statements were not defamatory, and whether fiduciary duty allegations were merely disguised defamation claims.

The court held that most allegations were properly pleaded and could proceed, including claims relating to alleged breaches of fiduciary duty and defamatory statements.

However, portions alleging that previously adjudicated statements were defamatory had to be re‑cast due to issue estoppel.

References to parliamentary committee testimony were permitted to remain pending determination of privilege issues at trial.

The appellant appealed an order dismissing his action under Rule 21 for disclosing no reasonable cause of action.

The Court of Appeal agreed with the motion judge's analysis that the claim was utterly unmeritorious and found no error.

The appeal was dismissed with costs awarded to each appearing respondent.

The applicant sought judicial review of a decision by the National Committee on Accreditation (NCA) refusing to recognize his foreign law degree due to his Third Class Honours standing.

The applicant argued the assessment process contravened the Fair Access to Regulated Professions Act, 2006.

The Divisional Court dismissed the application, finding the NCA's decision was reasonable, based on objective criteria, and that the accreditation process was fair and lawful.

The applicant corporation sought orders under the Securities Act and the Business Corporations Act to restrict certain shareholders from voting shares allegedly acquired in breach of early warning reporting requirements, to declare that a shareholder rights plan “flip‑in event” had occurred, and to invalidate a dissident proxy solicitation ahead of an annual general meeting.

The court declined to address the alleged early warning breach because the matter was already the subject of an ongoing Ontario Securities Commission investigation and had previously been withdrawn from related litigation.

Even if a breach had occurred, the court held that the discretionary remedy of prohibiting voting rights would not be appropriate given the circumstances and absence of harm to the market or shareholders.

The court also found no evidence that the respondents acted jointly or in concert in organizing the proxy solicitation or that the circular was misleading under applicable securities and corporate law regulations.

The application was dismissed.

Following the successful appeal by the defendant overturning the certification of a proposed class action for unpaid overtime, the defendant sought partial indemnity costs of $300,000.

The plaintiff and the Law Foundation of Ontario argued that no costs or a maximum of $50,000 should be awarded, citing the novel legal issues and public interest nature of the case.

The Court of Appeal acknowledged the novel points of law and access to justice considerations under section 31(1) of the Class Proceedings Act, 1992, but held that the Act does not insulate representative plaintiffs from adverse costs.

The court fixed the costs of the appeal at $60,000 on a partial indemnity scale.