Craig Vander Zee

The defendants sought costs following a successful summary judgment motion that dismissed the plaintiff's action based on a prior settlement and release.

The release stipulated that any party breaching it would be liable for costs on a 'solicitor and his own client scale.' The court held that this phrase is synonymous with full indemnity costs, distinguishing prior case law that equated it with substantial indemnity costs.

The court awarded full indemnity costs, fixing them at $70,235.52 for one defendant and $110,000 for the other two defendants, reducing the latter's claim due to overstaffing.

The moving party brought a motion for leave to appeal an earlier order.

The Divisional Court dismissed the motion for leave to appeal and ordered the moving party to pay costs of $5,000 to the responding party.

The Richmond Hill Zone Hockey Association (RHZHA) sought an urgent interlocutory injunction against the Ontario Minor Hockey Association (OMHA) and the Ontario Hockey Federation (OHF).

The RHZHA aimed to prevent the OMHA from dissolving its AAA Level hockey zone and to compel the OHF to reopen its application to transfer membership to the Greater Toronto Hockey League (GTHL).

The court dismissed the motion, finding that while the RHZHA would suffer irreparable harm, much of it had already occurred due to delay.

The court also determined that the balance of convenience favored the OMHA's decision to consolidate zones for the overall benefit of minor hockey, and that the Hockey Canada National Appeals Committee's adverse decision on the OHF's policy interpretation weakened the applicant's case for a mandatory injunction.

An appeal from a motion judge's order rectifying a will to correct a drafting error.

The estate trustee sought to correct the will to reflect the deceased's intention to liquidate sufficient shares to provide two children with $1 million each.

The widow, who did not challenge the will and elected to take under it, appealed the rectification order and sought leave to appeal the costs disposition.

The Court of Appeal upheld the motion judge's decision, finding no error in principle and that the factual findings were amply supported by evidence.

Leave to appeal costs was denied.

The Estate Trustee applied to rectify a drafting error in the deceased's Secondary Will.

The will mistakenly directed the redemption of 150 Class D shares to fund a $2 million bequest, but the deceased owned Class E shares, and 300 shares were required to generate the necessary after-tax proceeds.

The drafting solicitor admitted the error.

The deceased's widow opposed the rectification, arguing it should await the trial of her separate negligence claim against the solicitor.

The court applied the Robinson test, found the solicitor misunderstood or failed to carry out the testator's instructions, and granted the rectification to reflect the deceased's true intentions.

The appellant appealed a Small Claims Court judgment ordering it to pay an unpaid invoice of $11,523 to the respondent.

The parties had a distribution agreement that the respondent terminated after the appellant refused to pay the invoice.

The Divisional Court found no error in the trial judge's interpretation of the agreement, which required payment for products already delivered regardless of termination.

The court also upheld the dismissal of the appellant's counter-claim, finding no palpable and overriding error in the trial judge's conclusion that the appellant failed to prove its damages.

The appeal was dismissed.

Following earlier reasons setting aside a Report and Certificate of Assessment and directing a new assessment, the court considered competing submissions on costs.

Although the clients succeeded on the issue of lack of service of the assessment hearing, the court found their evidence unreliable and declined to award them costs.

The court determined there was no bona fide dispute regarding the retainer and that the creditor had been wholly successful on that issue.

The court further criticized the clients for strategically amending their motion after the creditor refused to consent to the relief sought.

A modest costs award was ordered against two of the clients.

The applicant, a minor hockey player, alleged that the respondents' residency rules discriminated against him on the basis of sex.

He argued that boys playing in the Ontario Minor Hockey Association (OMHA) faced restrictive residency rules and waiver requirements, whereas girls playing in the Ontario Women's Hockey Association (OWHA) did not.

The Tribunal dismissed the application on a preliminary basis, finding that the rules did not constitute direct or constructive discrimination.

The Tribunal held that comparing boys in the OMHA to girls in the OWHA was not an appropriate comparison, as they played in different leagues with different rules, and the residency rules did not have a disproportionate adverse effect on boys within the OMHA itself.

The applicants, two female youth hockey players and their mother, filed human rights complaints against the Brampton Youth Hockey Association (BYHA), its president, and the Ontario Hockey Federation (OHF).

The daughters alleged discrimination on the basis of sex regarding their exclusion from team dressing rooms, unequal changing facilities, and discriminatory comments from teammates.

The mother alleged reprisal after she was removed from a volunteer committee for filing the complaints.

The Tribunal found that while the OHF's dressing room policy was not inherently discriminatory, the BYHA discriminated against the daughters by failing to provide equal access to pre- and post-game activities, failing to arrange comparable changing rooms, tolerating discriminatory comments, and failing to investigate their complaints.

The Tribunal also found that the BYHA and its president committed a reprisal against the mother.

The applications against the OHF were dismissed.

The BYHA was ordered to pay a total of $18,000 in damages for injury to dignity, feelings, and self-respect.

The Tribunal held a case management conference call to address the lead case designation in a group of applications challenging minor hockey residency rules.

The family of the previously designated lead applicant, CH.K., requested to withdraw from that role due to family medical matters.

Over the respondents' objections regarding prejudice, the Tribunal allowed the change and designated CO.K. as the new lead case, finding minimal prejudice since no hearing dates had been set and no documents exchanged.

The appellant appealed the dismissal of his application under the Discriminatory Business Practices Act, which sought an order allowing him to play in the Greater Toronto Hockey League despite not meeting residency requirements.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal as moot because the appellant had subsequently moved and played in the league for two seasons.

The court declined to hear the appeal on the broader issue of whether the residency requirements generally contravened the Act, as this was not the focus of the original application.

The appellant, Minor Oaks Hockey Association Inc., appealed a decision of the Superior Court of Justice.

The Court of Appeal agreed with the lower court judge's decision and reasons.

The appeal was dismissed with costs awarded to the respondents.

The plaintiffs were injured in a motor vehicle accident caused by an intoxicated off-duty employee of the defendant employer.

The employee had consumed alcohol before, during, and after his shift, but the employer was unaware of his intoxication on the night in question.

The plaintiffs argued the employer owed them a duty of care because the employee was enrolled in an Employee Assistance Program for alcoholism.

The Court of Appeal held that the employer did not owe a duty of care to the plaintiffs, as the duty to provide a safe workplace does not extend to protecting the public from an employee's off-duty conduct.

The court also held that non-protected defendants are entitled to deduct collateral benefits from damage awards under section 267(1) of the Insurance Act.