Dillon Joseph Errington Collett

The plaintiff, Kaboom Fireworks Inc., brought a motion to compel several defendants (Vulcan Fireworks International Inc., Joseph Wan, Mystical Distributing Company Ltd., and Mystical Distributing International Ltd.) to answer undertakings and refusals from examinations for discovery.

The action concerns an alleged breach of an Exclusive Supply Agreement.

The court addressed various categories of refusals and undertakings, largely finding the questions relevant to the pleadings, particularly regarding the relationships between defendant entities, damage calculations, and the sale of Vulcan.

Most outstanding discovery obligations were ordered to be answered, with some resolved by consent or adjourned.

This endorsement addresses a costs award following the dismissal of the plaintiffs' (Sanjiv Joshi and Xpert Law Inc.) motion for an interlocutory order to reinstate Joshi as an officer and remove David Grace as a director of Olympia Athletic Camps Limited and 563973 Ontario Limited.

David Grace, the successful responding party, sought substantial indemnity costs.

The court awarded Grace $103,456 in substantial indemnity costs, finding that Joshi's conduct, both in the circumstances giving rise to the litigation and in the conduct of the litigation itself, was reprehensible and justified an elevated costs award.

The court rejected Joshi's arguments for no costs or costs in the cause, and his challenges to the hours and rates claimed by Grace's counsel, while making some adjustments for former counsel's time and a previous $10,000 costs order against Grace.

This costs endorsement addresses the allocation of costs across six intertwined proceedings.

The court awarded Maria Konstan $425,000 in all-inclusive costs against Samuel Jacob Berkovits and Saeed Hosseini.

This award was based on Maria's successful abuse of process claim, despite her malicious prosecution claim being dismissed, and the finding of Berkovits's malicious conduct.

Conversely, no costs were awarded between Samuel Jacob Berkovits and Harold Gerstel, as both parties engaged in reprehensible conduct and attempted to mislead the court, which would bring the administration of justice into disrepute.

This endorsement addresses an urgent motion brought by the Grace Parties (defendants in the main oppression action) seeking to remove Sanjiv Joshi as a Director and Officer of Parent Co., alleging oppressive conduct and corporate deadlock.

The court found the motion urgent, permitted it to proceed, and set a schedule for the filing of affidavits and cross-examinations.

The judge also requested the Regional Senior Justice to appoint a Case Management Judge due to the complexity and multiple related proceedings involved in the overall litigation.

The applicants, Sanjiv Joshi and Xpert Law Inc., brought an interlocutory motion seeking an oppression remedy and reinstatement into the management of Olympia Athletic Camps Limited and 563973 Ontario Limited, and ultimately the removal of David Grace as Director.

The court applied the RJR-MacDonald test for interlocutory injunctions, requiring a strong prima facie case for mandatory relief.

The court found that the applicants failed to establish a strong prima facie case of oppression, noting the absence of formal agreements defining Joshi's management role and the fact that Olympia's articles only allowed for one director.

Furthermore, the court found that Joshi did not come to court with "clean hands" due to concerning conduct, including misrepresentations, conflicts of interest, and questionable financial dealings.

The court also found no irreparable harm to the applicants and that the balance of convenience favored the respondent, Grace, given his long-standing involvement and the negative impact of Joshi's conduct on staff.

The motion was dismissed, and all previous interim terms were vacated.

This endorsement addresses three causes of action (conspiracy, abuse of process, and harassment) advanced by the Gerstel parties in their counterclaims, which were not explicitly determined in the court's prior Reasons for Decision.

The court dismissed all three claims.

The conspiracy claim failed due to a lack of common design between the alleged conspirators.

The abuse of process claim failed because the primary objective of the opposing parties' action was to redress civil wrongs, not for a collateral purpose.

The novel tort of harassment was not recognized, as the facts of the consolidated proceedings did not meet the high threshold for creating a new legal remedy.

The plaintiffs, Sanjive Joshi and Xpert Law Inc., brought motions for interim and interlocutory relief against David Grace and the companies 563973 Ontario Limited and Olympia Athletic Camps Limited, alleging oppression and seeking access to books and records.

Grace sought to file a late affidavit in response, which the plaintiffs opposed due to non-compliance with a court-ordered timetable and Rule 39.02(3).

The court, considering the interests of justice, permitted Grace to file his affidavit despite the procedural breaches, imposing terms including an adjournment, further cross-examinations, and an award of $10,000 in costs thrown away to the plaintiffs.

Interim financial controls were also ordered.

The applicant sought leave to appeal from a costs decision of the Superior Court awarding $121,892 to the respondent municipality.

The applicant also sought a stay of enforcement of the costs award pending disposition of the leave application.

The respondent sought dismissal of the motion or, alternatively, sought permission to conduct a judgment debtor examination and take steps to preserve the status quo, citing concerns about a potential fraudulent conveyance of the applicant's matrimonial home interest to his wife prior to the action.

The motions judge granted the stay of enforcement pending determination of the leave application.