Christine G. Carter

The applicant sought a constructive trust over $2.3 million in proceeds from the sale of the respondent's property, alleging the respondent's husband, a former employee, stole the funds and funneled them into joint accounts to purchase and renovate the property.

The court dismissed the claims for knowing receipt and knowing assistance, finding no evidence the respondent knew of the alleged theft or received the funds for her own benefit.

The respondent proved the majority of the property funds came from legitimate sources.

However, the court found unjust enrichment for $177,632.28 that was directly traced from the husband's company account to the property, awarding that amount to the applicant and releasing the balance to the respondent.

The plaintiffs brought a motion to amend their Statement of Claim to increase the prayer for relief from $7.5 million to $57.5 million and to specifically plead personal damage claims on behalf of the individual plaintiffs arising from the forced sale of an apartment building following an explosion.

The defendants opposed the motion, arguing prejudice and that the individual plaintiffs, as shareholders of holding companies, had no personal cause of action under the rule in Foss v. Harbottle.

The court dismissed the motion, finding that the significant delay in seeking the amendment resulted in presumed prejudice that was not rebutted, and that the proposed amendments failed to disclose a reasonable cause of action.

The appellants, plaintiffs in the underlying action, brought a motion before a single judge of the Court of Appeal seeking an order to compel the Regional Senior Judge to set an expedited four-week trial date.

This motion followed a previous Court of Appeal order that had set aside a partial summary judgment and directed the action to be restored to the trial list on an expedited basis.

The appellants argued that the action had not been restored as ordered.

The motion judge, assuming jurisdiction without deciding the *functus officio* argument, dismissed the motion.

The judge found that the previous order had not been breached and emphasized the inappropriateness of interfering with the trial judge's ongoing case management, who was actively preparing the case for trial.

This is a costs decision following the permanent stay of the plaintiffs' main action and third-party proceedings.

The defendants, Paul Gribilas and Peter Gribilas, and the third party, J+W Foods Inc., sought costs as successful parties on dispositive motions.

The plaintiffs argued against costs, claiming a miscarriage of justice given the prior ruling that there were genuine issues for trial.

The court found no miscarriage of justice and applied the normal rule that costs follow the outcome, awarding partial indemnity costs to the Gribilas defendants and full indemnity costs to J+W Foods Inc. based on a contractual provision in a release.

The plaintiffs sued the defendant lawyer and accountant for professional negligence, alleging they failed to protect the plaintiffs' ownership interest in a corporation.

The defendants brought third-party claims against the corporation and its principals.

The defendants and third parties moved for summary judgment to stay the action, relying on a general release previously signed by the plaintiffs in a settlement with the corporation.

The court granted the motions, finding that although the defendants were not parties to the release, allowing the action to proceed would trigger third-party claims against the released parties, violating the no-claims-over provision.

The main action and third-party proceedings were permanently stayed as an abuse of process.

The Ontario Land Tribunal held a Case Management Conference regarding appeals by the applicant against the municipality for failing to make decisions on a proposed Plan of Subdivision and Zoning By-law Amendment.

The Tribunal granted participant status to three individuals and approved the Procedural Order and Issues List for the upcoming two-day video hearing.

The appellants appealed a partial summary judgment dismissing their action against Enbridge Inc. and Enbridge Solutions Inc. The Court of Appeal found that the motion judge erred by allowing the summary judgment motion to proceed on the eve of a scheduled ten-week trial, causing unnecessary delay and expense.

Furthermore, the Court held that the motion judge erred in concluding there was no genuine issue requiring a trial regarding Enbridge Inc.'s direct duty of care to the appellants, particularly concerning its public statements and policies on supervising its subsidiaries and contractors.

The appeal was allowed, the summary judgment and costs order were set aside, and the action was restored for trial.

This is a consolidated appeal from two summary judgments and a costs order.

The appellants sought to hold a law firm liable for the actions of a lawyer who shared office space, alleging he was either a partner or held out as one.

The motion judge found the lawyer was not a partner and not held out as such, dismissing the claims against the firm.

The motion judge also issued a "boomerang" summary judgment in favour of the firm.

The Court of Appeal upheld the motion judge's findings, concluding there was no palpable and overriding error in determining the lawyer was not a partner and that the appellants did not subjectively rely on any "holding out." The Court also affirmed the motion judge's authority to issue a boomerang order and her discretion regarding costs, including declining a Sanderson order.

This endorsement addresses costs following a summary judgment motion where the plaintiffs succeeded against Paul McEnery but failed against the law firm Williams McEnery/Williams Litigation Lawyers.

The law firm, as the successful defendant, was awarded its partial indemnity costs of $56,398.22 from the plaintiffs.

The plaintiffs, while successful against Mr. McEnery, were only awarded $2,500 in costs from him, as most of their litigation expenses were attributable to the unsuccessful claim against the law firm.

The court denied the plaintiffs' request for a Sanderson order, which would have made Mr. McEnery responsible for the law firm's costs, finding it would not be just or fair given the plaintiffs' deliberate decision to pursue the law firm and the distinct nature of the claims.

This decision addresses costs arising from a successful interlocutory injunction motion brought by Wayne and Liana Gendron against the City of Kawartha Lakes.

The Gendrons sought substantial indemnity costs, while TD Bank, a non-party, also requested costs.

The City opposed both requests.

The court awarded partial indemnity costs to the Gendrons, finding the City's opposition to the underlying injunction motion to be without merit.

TD Bank's request for costs was denied, as it was a non-party with a mere "watching brief" whose counsel's attendance added nothing to the argument.

The Gendrons moved for an interlocutory injunction to prevent the City of Kawartha Lakes from selling their home, which was subject to a priority lien under the Environmental Protection Act.

The City opposed, arguing estoppel, res judicata, failure to meet the injunction test, and lack of an undertaking for damages.

The court granted the prohibitive injunction, finding serious issues to be tried regarding the lien's validity and amount, irreparable harm to the Gendrons and TD Bank, and the balance of convenience favoring the Gendrons.

The court also ordered priority for the underlying motions.

The plaintiffs brought actions in debt against a lawyer and moved for summary judgment against both the lawyer and the law firm he shared space with, alleging they were partners or that the firm held him out as a partner.

The court granted summary judgment against the lawyer for the unpaid loans.

However, the court dismissed the claims against the law firm, finding that the lawyer was a sole practitioner and not a partner in fact.

Furthermore, while the lawyer may have been held out as a partner, the plaintiffs failed to prove they extended credit in reliance on that representation.

The court granted a 'boomerang' summary judgment dismissing the claims against the law firm despite the lack of a cross-motion.

The City of Kawartha Lakes appealed a Master's order compelling its solicitor to answer questions and produce documents on cross-examination regarding an affidavit she swore.

The Master found that the City had waived solicitor-client and settlement privilege by voluntarily disclosing detailed narratives of its conduct, legal advice, and settlement negotiations in the affidavit.

The Superior Court dismissed the appeal, upholding the Master's findings that the information was relevant and that the privileges had been waived.

The court also confirmed that section 239 of the Municipal Act does not create a new 'closed session' privilege.

The appellant municipality appealed a trial judgment awarding the respondent approximately $995,000 in damages plus $921,508 in costs for injuries sustained while riding a bicycle on a recreational path.

The respondent's bicycle struck an exposed metal bracket from a removed bollard, causing her to fall and sustain a brain injury.

The trial judge found the municipality solely liable under the Occupiers' Liability Act and awarded damages for lost income.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, rejecting arguments regarding misinterpretation of the Act, failure to apply the but-for test, lack of jurisdiction regarding lost income damages, and failure to find contributory negligence.

The court also denied leave to appeal the costs award.

The appellant protested outside town hall with a megaphone against a municipal by-law permitting a medical marijuana facility to be built near his home.

Town employees expressed fear for their safety, and the town issued a one-year trespass notice banning the appellant from all town property.

The application judge found the appellant's protest was violent and therefore not protected by the Charter.

The Court of Appeal reversed, holding that the appellant's protest was peaceful expression protected by section 2(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and that the trespass notice unjustifiably limited his freedom of expression.

The plaintiff, Wanda Labanowicz, sought costs and interest following a successful three-week trial against the Corporation of the Town of Fort Erie, where she was awarded $894,839.72 in damages for a bicycle accident.

The court considered the plaintiff's pre-trial offers, which she surpassed, the defendant's "scorched earth" defence, the case's complexity, and the parties' reasonable expectations.

The court found the defendant's offers to be 'nuisance' value and criticized its unreasonable and unsupported defences.

While largely granting costs to the plaintiff on a partial indemnity basis to the date of her May 2016 offer and substantial indemnity thereafter, the court reduced the plaintiff's proposed Bill of Costs by $35,000 for pre-May Offer costs and made further reductions for post-May Offer costs and costs submissions due to duplication from multiple law firms and excessive clerk/student time.

Disbursements and OHIP claims were largely upheld, and full interest was awarded to the plaintiff.

The plaintiff sustained a brain injury after her bicycle struck an empty bollard housing on a municipal recreational trail.

She sued the municipality under the Occupiers' Liability Act.

The court found the municipality 100% liable, holding that leaving an unpainted, unlocked, and easily removable bollard housing exposed on the trail amounted to reckless disregard for the safety of cyclists.

The court rejected arguments of contributory negligence and found the accident caused the plaintiff's post-concussion syndrome, rendering her competitively unemployable in her previous field.

Damages for past and future income loss were awarded in the amount of $737,339.72.

The Town of Fort Erie sought costs on a partial indemnity basis after successfully defending an application brought by Fredrick Bracken.

Bracken argued for no costs, claiming public interest litigant status.

The court awarded costs to the Town, finding Bracken was not a public interest litigant and his conduct necessitated the proceedings.

The court fixed costs at $15,000, inclusive of disbursements and HST, payable by Bracken within 60 days, applying Rule 57.01(1) and the principle of reasonableness.

The appellants appealed municipal orders to pay costs issued by the City of Kawartha Lakes under s. 100.1 of the Environmental Protection Act relating to the clean-up of a furnace oil spill.

The Tribunal allowed the appeal of the co-owner, finding she was not the owner or person in control of the pollutant immediately before the discharge.

The Tribunal allowed the owner's appeal in part, reducing the total amount payable to $313,005.08, but dismissed his arguments that the consulting and monitoring costs were unrelated to preventing adverse effects or were unreasonable.

During an appeal of an order to pay costs related to the clean-up of an environmental spill, an orderee requested presenter status.

The Tribunal granted the request, finding that the orderee's interests may be directly and substantially affected by the hearing, he has a genuine interest in the subject matter, and he is likely to make a relevant contribution to the Tribunal's understanding of the issues.