Erin Durant

The defendant brought a motion under s. 137.1 of the Courts of Justice Act to dismiss the plaintiff's defamation action as a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP).

The parties had a brief relationship, after which the defendant made public allegations in the gaming community and on social media that the plaintiff had sexually assaulted her and was a sexual predator.

The court found that while the expressions related to a matter of public interest, the plaintiff's defamation claim had substantial merit and there were grounds to defeat the defence of justification.

The court concluded that the harm suffered by the plaintiff was sufficiently serious that the public interest in permitting the action to proceed outweighed the public interest in protecting the defendant's expressions.

The motion was dismissed, with no costs awarded.

The infant plaintiff suffered a severe and permanent brachial plexus injury during birth after encountering shoulder dystocia.

The plaintiffs brought a medical negligence action against the delivering obstetrician, alleging he applied excessive downward traction.

The defendant argued the injury was caused by maternal propulsive forces.

The court found that the defendant breached the standard of care by applying more than gentle downward traction, which caused the injury.

The court awarded $811,564 in total damages, including non-pecuniary damages, future care costs, future loss of income, and Family Law Act damages for the family.

Following a jury trial for a motor vehicle accident claim, the plaintiffs were awarded $5,000, a fraction of the $1.5 million claimed.

The defendant had made a Rule 49 offer of $350,000 prior to trial.

The court considered the factors under Rule 57.01 and the impact of the Rule 49 offer.

The court fixed the plaintiffs' costs at $100,000 and the defendant's costs at $200,000, ordering the plaintiffs to pay the net costs of $100,000 to the defendant, less the amount of their judgment.

The defendant brought a threshold motion during a jury trial for a motor vehicle accident, seeking a declaration that the plaintiff's claims for non-pecuniary general damages and health care expenses were barred under the Insurance Act.

The plaintiff had a significant history of pre-existing neck and back pain.

The court found that the plaintiff failed to prove on a balance of probabilities that his current ailments were caused by the subject accident.

Furthermore, even if causation was established, the plaintiff failed to prove that his impairments substantially interfered with most of his usual activities of daily living.

The threshold motion was granted, barring the claims.

The plaintiffs sold a retirement home and alleged that their lawyer and the purchaser's lawyer failed to ensure $109,000 was held in trust for tax liabilities.

The defendant lawyers moved for summary judgment, arguing the claims were statute-barred.

The court granted the motions, finding the plaintiffs failed to rebut the presumption of discoverability and had knowledge of the material facts more than two years before commencing the action.

The court also dismissed the fraudulent misrepresentation claim due to a lack of evidence.

The Third Party, a municipality, brought a motion for summary judgment to dismiss a Third Party Claim brought by the Defendant general contractor.

The claim arose from a municipal infrastructure project where a provisional item was deleted from the contract.

The parties had previously entered into a Global Settlement Agreement to resolve all outstanding claims.

The court found that the summary judgment process was appropriate as there were no credibility issues requiring a trial.

The court interpreted the Global Settlement Agreement and concluded that the specific claim was subsumed within the settlement, barring the Defendant from asserting further claims.

The motion for summary judgment was granted.