B. Legate

The plaintiffs brought a motion to strike the defendant's jury notice due to the COVID-19 pandemic, arguing that further delay of their motor vehicle accident trial would cause prejudice.

The court reviewed the current state of court operations in London and the evolving jurisprudence on striking juries during the pandemic.

Adopting a 'wait and see' approach, the court found it premature to strike the jury notice for a trial scheduled three months away.

The motion was dismissed, but the plaintiffs were granted leave to renew the motion if jury trials are cancelled for the scheduled trial period.

The plaintiffs brought a medical malpractice and wrongful birth claim against a radiologist and an obstetrician.

The radiologist performed a second-trimester ultrasound that revealed fetal anomalies but failed to communicate the findings urgently.

The obstetrician failed to review the ultrasound report in a timely manner and did not expedite follow-up or refer the patient to a fetal medicine clinic before 24 weeks' gestation.

The court found both doctors breached the standard of care.

Applying the modified objective test, the court concluded that but for the negligence, the plaintiffs would have elected to terminate the pregnancy in Ontario before 24 weeks.

The defendants were found liable.

The applicant sought approval of an infant settlement for an accident benefits claim, approval of a contingency fee agreement to apply to both the accident benefits claim and a future tort action, and a sealing order for the court file.

The court declined to approve the settlement or the legal fees due to insufficient affidavit evidence from the litigation guardian and counsel as required by Rule 7.08.

The court also refused to approve the contingency fee agreement for the tort action, finding the fairness and reasonableness requirements were not met on the current record.

The request for a sealing order was dismissed as the applicant failed to meet the Dagenais/Mentuck test.