Bernadette Dietrich

The plaintiffs, Henry Jung and Long Ocean Holding Ltd., brought two motions for summary judgment seeking the return of deposits plus interest for commercial and residential units in the former Trump Tower.

The defendant, Talon International Inc., counterclaimed for forfeiture of the deposits, alleging breach of contract.

The court granted summary judgment to the plaintiffs, finding that the agreements of purchase and sale were terminated through no fault of the purchasers due to Talon's receivership and subsequent sale of the units to a third party.

The court also found Talon's statements of adjustments to be aggressive and overreaching, and that the plaintiffs' actions for specific performance were not a breach of contract.

The third-party solicitors McMillan LLP, Philip Thompson, and Marssa Giahi brought a motion for summary judgment to dismiss claims of negligence brought against them by defendants Crosslink Bridge Corp. and Andrew Penuvchev.

The defendants alleged the solicitors failed to warn them of environmental risks associated with purchasing contaminated railway lands.

The court found that the solicitors were not negligent, as their retainers were limited, the clients were sophisticated and had conducted their own due diligence, and the environmental disclosure documents were not provided to the solicitors.

Furthermore, the court found the third-party claims were barred by the expiration of the applicable limitation periods.

The motion for summary judgment was granted, and the claims against the third parties were dismissed.

This case involved a real estate commission dispute where the plaintiffs, Hurst Real Estate Service Inc. and DTZ Canada Inc., sought a 5% commission on the sale of a commercial property.

The court found that a binding contract was formed between the real estate agent, David Hurst, and the defendant Sam Sadr/Great Lands Corporation, entitling the plaintiffs to the commission.

The defendants' technical defenses, including the absence of a signed commission agreement and arguments under the Real Estate and Business Brokers Act, 2002, were rejected.

The court also found Sam Sadr personally liable for inducing the breach of contract and for being a party to the agreement.

Blackjet Inc. sought summary judgment against Skyline Investments Inc. et al. for unpaid marketing fees under an Agency Agreement.

The defendants disputed the amount, alleging double-billing and Blackjet's breach of contract for failing to provide monthly reconciliations and appoint an account manager.

The court granted summary judgment, finding some double-billing by Blackjet but dismissing the defendants' breach of contract claim as they had waived their right to enforce it.

Blackjet was awarded a reduced amount for unpaid fees and late payment fees, along with pre- and post-judgment interest.

The plaintiff sought costs following a successful summary judgment motion in a wrongful dismissal action.

The court had previously awarded the plaintiff eight months' notice and a pro-rated bonus, totaling $106,883.02.

The plaintiff requested costs of $71,701.63 on a mixed partial and substantial indemnity basis, relying on a Rule 49 offer to settle.

The defendant argued the requested costs were excessive and disproportionate, suggesting $20,000.

The court, applying Rule 57.01 factors and the principle of proportionality, found the plaintiff's counsel's time spent disproportionate to the case's complexity, despite the plaintiff's success and a favourable offer to settle.

The court fixed the plaintiff's costs at $35,000 plus HST and disbursements.

The plaintiff, Luke Stewart, sued the Toronto Police Services Board for alleged violations of his Charter rights (freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, arbitrary detention, unreasonable search and seizure) during the 2010 G20 summit.

Stewart was briefly detained and his backpack searched after he breached a police perimeter at Allan Gardens, which had been established with a condition of entry requiring bag inspections for weapons due to security concerns.

The court found that the police acted lawfully and reasonably under the Trespass to Property Act and their common law powers to maintain public safety.

It concluded that Stewart's Charter rights were not infringed, and even if they were, such infringements were reasonable and demonstrably justified in the unique circumstances of the G20 protest demonstrations.

The action was dismissed.

The defendant, Sonia Hakimi, brought a motion to set aside a default judgment, vacate a notice of garnishment and writ, remove derogatory credit bureau reports, and for costs.

Hakimi acknowledged her indebtedness to the plaintiff, Royal Bank of Canada, but argued she withheld payments pending clarification on how they would be applied.

The court applied the five-factor test for setting aside default judgments, finding that while the motion was brought promptly, Hakimi failed to establish a plausible explanation for default or an arguable defence on the merits.

Her affidavit merely asserted a defence without supporting evidence.

Consequently, the motion was dismissed without costs.