David P. Lees

The appellant, who was self-represented at trial, appealed a judgment regarding a commercial lease dispute.

He argued the trial judge failed to give him a fair opportunity to present his defence by not allowing him to call a specific witness.

The Court of Appeal dismissed this ground, finding the trial judge afforded a reasonable opportunity and properly exercised discretion, as the appellant provided no summary of the proposed relevant evidence.

However, the Court allowed the appeal in part regarding damages awarded for the appellant's failure to abide by the lease's closing hours.

The Court found the fine provision oppressive and not a genuine pre-estimate of damages, reducing the judgment by $4,040.50.

The appellant, a registered practical nurse, appealed a finding of professional misconduct by the Discipline Committee of the College of Nurses of Ontario.

The Committee found that the appellant yelled at a cognitively impaired client and forced her to clean up her own faeces.

The appeal was based on the Committee's credibility findings and its refusal to re-open the hearing.

The Divisional Court dismissed the appeal, holding that there was no palpable and overriding error in the credibility findings and no error in refusing to re-open the hearing.