Christopher P. Morris

The plaintiff, as Estate Trustee, brought a motion without notice for payment out of court of funds allegedly misappropriated by the defendant Eagan.

The funds were paid into court by TD Waterhouse in a related proceeding.

The court reserved its decision, requiring the plaintiff to either serve the motion record on the defendants or seek an order dispensing with service, and to provide evidence regarding other potential claimants to the funds.

This motion for judgment involved a landlord's claim for damages following a tenant's early vacation of premises.

The landlord sought rental arrears and prospective losses.

The tenant argued a material breach by the landlord due to inadequate parking.

The court found the tenant wrongfully repudiated the lease, entitling the landlord to agreed-upon rental arrears.

However, the landlord's claim for lost future rent was deemed to require a summary trial due to insufficient evidence on present value, actual rental value, and mitigation efforts.

No costs were awarded due to divided success.

The accused pleaded guilty to careless driving contrary to section 130 of the Highway Traffic Act of Ontario.

While operating a minivan in a residential area near a park and children's playground, the accused failed to stop at a red light and stop bar at the intersection of McRae Drive and Millwood Road in Toronto.

The accused struck and killed a six-year-old pedestrian who had the right of way in the crosswalk.

The court imposed a non-custodial sentence of a $2,000 fine, a two-year driving prohibition, and two years of probation with 200 hours of community service, balancing the grave consequences of the offence against the accused's reduced moral culpability for careless (rather than dangerous) driving.

On a motion in a retail sales tax appeal, the moving party sought to restrict the responding party to arguing only the issue expressly raised in its Notice of Objection, namely whether premiums paid under a health and welfare plan attracted retail sales tax.

The responding party argued the court could permit amendments and should allow a fuller factual record, including matters such as due diligence and penalty, to properly frame the appeal.

The court held that fairness required a complete factual record so that any necessary determinations could be made in the interests of justice.

The motion to restrict the grounds of appeal was dismissed, with costs reserved to the hearing judge.

The accused applied under s. 24(1) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms for a stay of proceedings, alleging a violation of their right to be tried within a reasonable time under s. 11(b).

The court assessed delay under the framework from R. v. Morin, allocating periods between inherent time requirements, Crown delay, and institutional delay.

Crown and institutional delay totalled approximately 19 months, modestly exceeding the Morin guideline range of 14–18 months.

While much of the claimed prejudice was typical of criminal charges, one accused demonstrated significant personal, financial, and health-related prejudice arising from the delay.

Balancing the factors, including prejudice and the seriousness of the charges, the court found the delay unreasonable and ordered a stay of proceedings.

In complex proceedings involving an inspection application, receivership, and bankruptcy relating to corporate entities and a charitable foundation, the Inspector brought a motion to approve accounts and increase an administrative charge.

Counsel for the foundation sought an adjournment due to counsel’s unavailability outside Canada.

The court granted the adjournment and set procedural timelines for the exchange of materials and questions regarding accounts.

The court also extended existing ex parte restraining orders and the appointment of an interim receiver pending a return hearing.

Respondents subject to the restraining orders were directed to provide an accounting of expenditures made under the limited exceptions permitted by the orders.

Multiple motions arose in more than 45 construction lien actions concerning five related solar farm projects across Eastern Ontario.

The plaintiff sought transfer and consolidation of numerous lien actions, while the general contractor sought reduction of security posted to vacate liens under the Construction Lien Act.

The court declined full consolidation, instead designating “main actions” for each project and implementing procedural directions to coordinate litigation efficiently while avoiding administrative burdens associated with transferring and merging dozens of proceedings.

The court partially granted the motion to reduce security where duplicate or inflated lien claims were conceded, while adjourning the balance pending further negotiations and analysis of holdback exposure and overlapping claims.

The appellant appealed the trial judge's dismissal of its action to compel the sale of monitoring accounts and the award of $50,000 in punitive damages against it.

The Court of Appeal upheld the dismissal of the action, finding that while the trial judge's waiver and implied term analysis was legally flawed, her factual findings supported the conclusion that the appellant was estopped from insisting on its contractual rights due to its negotiating strategy.

However, the Court set aside the punitive damages award, noting that punitive damages are rare in commercial cases, the conduct merely 'approached' the required standard, and there was no independent actionable wrong.

The Registrar issued a Notice of Proposal to suspend the licensee's liquor licence for permitting drunken patrons and serving intoxicated patrons.

The parties submitted an Agreed Statement of Facts and a Joint Submission on Disposition, admitting to breaches of the Liquor Licence Act and its regulations.

The Board accepted the joint submission and ordered a 40-day suspension of the liquor licence.