Brent Kettles

The plaintiff grocery store sought an interlocutory injunction preventing the municipality from removing a lay-by used for valet parking on a public street during planned road improvements.

The court applied the test for interlocutory injunctions from RJR-MacDonald and held that the plaintiff failed to demonstrate a serious issue to be tried, irreparable harm, or that the balance of convenience favoured relief.

The alleged causes of action—injurious affection and an easement—could not support the requested injunction, as any remedy for injurious affection lay in damages before the municipal tribunal and no easement could exist over a public highway.

The court also held that potential economic losses from removal of the lay-by were compensable in damages and that municipal authority over public highways weighed heavily against judicial interference.

The applicants moved to remove Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP as counsel for a corporation involved in a shareholder dispute.

The court considered whether a unanimous shareholders’ agreement required unanimous director approval for the law firm’s retainer and whether conflicts of interest existed under the Business Corporations Act and common law principles.

The court held that the applicant director was conflicted regarding the company’s defence of litigation he initiated and therefore unanimity was not required for that retainer.

However, the court found the law firm’s concurrent involvement in both litigation against the director and negotiations with a third party supplier created a practical and legal conflict affecting corporate advice.

The retainer relating to the negotiations was therefore improper.