David Boghosian

In a class action regarding institutional child abuse at Grenville Christian College, the court addressed the individual issues stage.

The defendants were judgment-proof and had erratic insurance coverage over the 25-year class period, creating a fairness issue where some class members would recover nothing while others would be fully compensated.

The court conditionally approved a three-step Individual Issues Litigation Plan that diverts uninsured claims to a claims program and pools recoveries from insured claims into a Distribution Fund to be shared fairly among all eligible class members.

Following a successful motion by the defendants to stay the proceedings in favour of arbitration, the defendants sought costs on a substantial indemnity scale, arguing that a letter demanding the plaintiff discontinue the action constituted a Rule 49 offer.

The court held that the letter did not contain a genuine compromise and therefore did not attract substantial indemnity costs.

The court awarded the defendants partial indemnity costs in the amount of $43,805.72, finding the amount reasonable for a stay motion involving considerable legal research.

The plaintiffs, former boarding students of Grenville Christian College, brought a class action against the school and the estates of its former headmasters for systemic negligence and breach of fiduciary duty.

The court found that the school operated as a 'total institution' and employed abusive, arbitrary, and humiliating disciplinary practices, including excessive corporal punishment and public shaming, which fell below the standard of care for educational institutions in Ontario.

The court concluded that the defendants breached their duty of care and fiduciary obligations to the students, and that their conduct merited an award of punitive damages.

The defendants moved for summary judgment to dismiss the plaintiff's defamation action.

The plaintiff had previously sued the defendants for breach of contract through his corporation, which was dismissed on summary judgment and upheld on appeal.

The court found that the defamation action was an attempt to relitigate the same material facts and issues decided in the prior action.

Applying the doctrine of issue estoppel, the court granted the motion and dismissed the action, awarding costs to the defendants.

Following a 16-day jury trial where the plaintiff's claim against the police defendants was dismissed, the parties made written submissions on costs.

The defendants sought substantial indemnity costs of $296,602.70 based on an offer to settle and allegations of intentional torts against an officer.

The court declined to award substantial indemnity costs, finding the offer did not trigger such consequences and the allegations did not warrant them.

Costs were awarded to the defendants on a partial indemnity basis, fixed at $127,000 all-inclusive, after deductions for travel time and a second counsel.

A municipality brought a motion for summary judgment seeking dismissal of a negligence claim arising from a motor vehicle accident allegedly caused by a curb stone that had moved from a grassy boulevard onto a roadway.

The dispute centered on which municipality had jurisdiction over the portion of the boulevard from which the curb stone originated.

Evidence including a survey established that the relevant land fell within the jurisdiction of another municipality that was responsible for roadway maintenance under the Municipal Act.

The court held that the moving municipality had no legal responsibility for the hazard and therefore owed no duty in respect of the curb stone.

Summary judgment was granted dismissing the action against the moving municipality.

In contentious estate litigation, the applicant brought a broad motion seeking numerous procedural and substantive orders relating to the administration of an estate, production of records, and interim support.

The court found the litigation had become highly acrimonious and expensive, warranting active case management and intervention to regularize the proceedings.

Orders were made requiring the respondents to pass accounts, appointing an estate trustee during litigation, compelling production of medical and solicitor records relevant to testamentary capacity, permitting amendment of the application to determine the deceased’s last will, and directing an organized exchange of productions.

The court also granted the applicant an interim funding order from the estate for legal expenses.

Contempt motions brought by both sides were dismissed.

The applicant municipalities sought a declaration that their insurers had a duty to indemnify them for damages sought in two underlying actions relating to the expropriation of lands for a Toyota manufacturing plant.

The insurers argued the application was premature as the underlying actions involved substantial disputed facts and potential coverage exclusions, including whether the municipalities gained a personal profit or advantage, or if the claims were for restitution or statutory compensation.

The court dismissed the application, holding that unlike the duty to defend, the duty to indemnify must generally be determined after trial based on findings of fact, and the current record contained too many disputed facts to resolve the coverage issues prematurely.