The defendants moved to dismiss or permanently stay an Ontario action arising from an equitable mortgage over St. Kitts property, while the plaintiffs cross-moved for an anti-suit injunction.
Applying the real and substantial connection analysis from Van Breda, the court held that the alleged Ontario connecting factor—the place where one plaintiff mailed acceptance of the mortgage agreement—pointed only to a weak relationship with the dispute and was rebutted by the overwhelmingly Caribbean-centred factual matrix.
The court further held that St. Kitts was clearly the more appropriate forum given the location of the property, witnesses, documents, governing law, and ongoing related proceedings there.
The cross-motion for anti-suit relief failed because Ontario was not the clearly more appropriate forum.
