Dineen

Following a jury conviction for sexual interference, the accused applied for a stay of proceedings based on the loss of the complainant's diary and the late disclosure of a police officer's email regarding the diary.

The trial judge assumed jurisdiction to hear the post-verdict application but dismissed it on the merits.

The court found that the police acted reasonably in photographing rather than seizing the diary, and that while the late disclosure of the email breached the accused's section 7 Charter rights, it was not a deliberate attempt to undermine the trial's fairness and did not warrant the drastic remedy of a stay of proceedings.

The accused stood trial for multiple offences against his former wife, including dangerous driving, assault with a weapon, assault causing bodily harm, mischief, and sexual assault.

The charges arose from three separate incidents: a dispute over a car, a physical struggle over a cell phone, and an alleged sexual assault.

The court found the complainant's evidence regarding the car incident and sexual assault to be deliberately exaggerated or false, resulting in acquittals for dangerous driving, assault with a weapon, and sexual assault.

However, based on the accused's own evidence and corroborating video, the court found him guilty of assault causing bodily harm and mischief, rejecting his claims of defence of property and self-defence as his use of force was unreasonable in the circumstances.

The accused were charged with firearms offences after police found two loaded handguns in satchels in the back seat of a rented vehicle they were occupying.

The Crown relied on circumstantial evidence and DNA profiles linking the accused to the firearms.

The court acquitted one accused entirely, finding reasonable doubt regarding his knowledge and control of the firearms.

The other accused was acquitted of charges relating to one firearm due to the possibility of indirect DNA transfer, but convicted of possession of the second firearm.

The court also held that the second firearm, which was inoperable but easily repairable, met the definition of a firearm for simple possession but not for possession in a motor vehicle or possession of a loaded firearm.

The appellant appealed her conviction for impaired driving, arguing ineffective assistance of counsel and challenging the trial judge's Charter rulings.

She claimed her trial counsel failed to advise her of the option to testify only on the voir dire, leading her to make damaging admissions during the trial proper.

The summary conviction appeal judge dismissed the appeal, finding that trial counsel's strategic decisions did not fall below the standard of reasonable professional assistance and did not result in a miscarriage of justice.

The appeal judge also upheld the trial judge's decisions to deny a stay of proceedings for lost video evidence and to admit the police officers' observations despite Charter breaches.

The plaintiff provided electrical engineering and consulting services for a cannabis grow operation on tribal lands in California.

The project was shut down by a federal law enforcement raid, and the plaintiff was left with unpaid invoices for its work and materials.

The plaintiff sued the defendant, who had provided the funding for the project, arguing that the site manager who hired the plaintiff was acting as the defendant's agent.

The court found that the defendant and the tribe were in a partnership to operate the project, and that the site manager had actual authority to contract on behalf of the partnership.

The defendant was held liable for the unpaid invoices plus contractual interest.

The plaintiff, a warehouse employee of 13.5 years, sued for wrongful dismissal after the defendant outsourced its warehouse operations.

The plaintiff declined an offer of employment from the outsourcing company before his termination took effect.

The court held that the plaintiff did not fail to mitigate his damages because the alternative job offer was made and withdrawn prior to his actual termination.

The court awarded the plaintiff 12 months of reasonable notice and dismissed the claim for punitive damages.

The plaintiff, an international bank headquartered in Nevis, sued the defendants in Ontario for defamation and breach of a confidentiality agreement.

The defendants, who had been noted in default, moved to set aside the default and dismiss the action on jurisdictional grounds.

The court set aside the noting in default, finding a reasonable explanation for the delay.

The court then dismissed the action, enforcing a forum selection clause in the parties' investment agreement that designated St. Kitts and Nevis as the exclusive jurisdiction.

Alternatively, the court found that Nevis was clearly the more appropriate forum under the doctrine of forum non conveniens.

The plaintiff, a depot manager with five years of service, was laid off during the COVID-19 pandemic and brought a wrongful dismissal action.

The court found the termination clause in his employment contract void because its 'just cause' provision violated the Employment Standards Act.

Applying the Bardal factors, the court awarded the plaintiff seven months of reasonable notice.

The court also ruled that the plaintiff's Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) payments should not be deducted from his damages award.

The plaintiff mortgage syndicate brought a motion for summary judgment and to strike the defendants' statement of defence and counterclaim regarding a defaulted second mortgage.

The defendants, who had not made any payments, alleged unparticularized fraudulent behaviour by the plaintiffs' agents.

The court struck the statement of defence and counterclaim as they disclosed no reasonable defence or cause of action.

Finding no genuine issue for trial, the court granted summary judgment in favour of the plaintiffs and awarded full indemnity costs.