Bruce H. Engell

The City of Port Colborne sought leave to appeal a decision of the Ontario Municipal Board, which found that Nyon Oil Inc. had standing to appeal the City's refusal to amend its official plan and zoning by-law.

The City argued the Board lacked jurisdiction and erred in finding Nyon was an 'applicant' under the Planning Act.

The Divisional Court dismissed the motion, holding that the Board had jurisdiction to determine its own scope and reasonably concluded that the City acted as Nyon's agent in applying for the amendments.

Leave to appeal was denied.

The appellant appealed a trial judgment that dismissed his claim based on the defence of qualified privilege.

The appellant argued the trial judge made a palpable and overriding error regarding the sequence of events and the appellant's objections to a development.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding that the trial judge made strong credibility findings against the appellant and correctly concluded the appellant had no genuine objection, making the defence of qualified privilege available.

The appellants appealed an order amending a consent judgment regarding the submission of plans for the removal of support beams.

The motion judge amended the judgment to reflect the mutual intent of the parties, as the original language did not accomplish the goal of filing plans that would satisfy the City of Toronto's requirements for a building permit.

The Court of Appeal found the rectification was justified and dismissed the appeal, extending the deadline for submitting the plans on consent.