Brian McCall

The appellant appealed the dismissal of his civil action for damages arising from his arrest on February 13, 2013.

The motion judge had dismissed the action as time-barred, finding that the limitation period for battery and false arrest claims crystallized on the date of arrest.

The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, holding that where a battery action is a mirror image of criminal charges, the discovery date is when the criminal proceedings conclude, not when the arrest occurs.

The appellant's action, commenced May 13, 2016, was within two years of the October 22, 2015 conclusion of the criminal charges via peace bond and therefore not time-barred.

The plaintiff sued police for battery, illegal search, wrongful arrest and detention, Charter breaches, and malicious prosecution.

The defendants moved for summary judgment, arguing that all claims except malicious prosecution were statute-barred by the two-year limitation period, and the malicious prosecution claim failed because the criminal proceedings did not terminate in the plaintiff's favour due to his entry into a peace bond.

The court dismissed the claims for battery, illegal search, wrongful arrest, detention, and Charter breaches as time-barred, finding the plaintiff knew of the injury and the appropriateness of a civil action at the time of arrest.

The court also dismissed the malicious prosecution claim, holding that entering into a peace bond does not constitute a termination of proceedings in the plaintiff's favour, and there was no evidence of improper motive by the Crown or police in offering the peace bond.

The defendants brought a Rule 21 motion to determine questions of law regarding applicable limitation periods and proper parties in an action for damages arising from a municipal drain.

The court held that the limitation period in s. 111 of the Drainage Act applies only to proceedings before a referee, not the Superior Court, meaning s. 45 of the former Limitations Act applied to the plaintiffs' claims.

The court also found that the one-year limitation period under s. 46 of the Professional Engineers Act applied to the claims against the engineering defendants.

Finally, the court determined that under s. 79 of the Drainage Act, the municipality is strictly liable for damages caused by the condition of drainage works, precluding claims against the other defendants.

The plaintiffs contracted HIV from the defendant after he had unprotected sex with them without disclosing his status.

The plaintiffs sued the Windsor Health Unit and the Windsor Police for negligence, alleging they knew of the risk the defendant posed but failed to take steps to prevent it.

The health unit and police moved for summary judgment to dismiss the action, arguing they owed no private law duty of care to the plaintiffs.

The court dismissed the motions, finding that the issue of whether a duty of care existed was complex and required a full trial to determine proximity and policy considerations.

On a summary judgment motion in long-running drainage litigation, the moving defendants sought dismissal on limitation grounds and substantial indemnity costs.

The responding plaintiffs opposed and sought related procedural relief, including amendment of pleadings to particularize nuisance and to plead discoverability and fraudulent concealment.

The court held that the record disclosed multiple genuine issues requiring a trial, including disputed facts regarding design, construction, disclosure obligations, and the interaction of potentially applicable statutory limitation regimes.

Summary judgment was dismissed, leave to further amend the amended statement of claim was granted, and the matter was directed to proceed expeditiously toward trial.