Dr. Goyer

The plaintiff employer moved for default judgment against two former employee accountants alleged to have misappropriated corporate funds over several years.

Evidence from an internal investigation and a forensic consulting report established that the defendants conducted numerous fraudulent withdrawals and falsified accounting records.

The court held the pleadings and affidavit evidence established liability for conversion, fraud, and breach of fiduciary duty and granted judgment for proven losses totaling over $1.96 million, but declined to include certain suspicious transactions that could not be adequately traced to the defendants.

Punitive damages were awarded due to the deliberate and prolonged abuse of positions of trust, though the amount sought was reduced after considering the defendants’ gambling disorder evidence, ongoing criminal proceedings, and proportionality.

The court also awarded investigative costs and substantial indemnity legal costs.

The Crown appealed an order transferring a 17-year-old charged with second degree murder from ordinary court to youth court under the Young Offenders Act.

The appeal turned on whether the respondent had shown likely rehabilitation within the seven-year dispositional period, given psychiatric evidence of schizophrenia and possible conduct disorder.

The court held that the youth court judge misconstrued and misapplied the psychiatric evidence by making a definitive finding excluding conduct disorder despite significant evidentiary gaps.

Because the respondent failed to establish likely rehabilitation within the statutory period, the transfer order was set aside and the matter was directed to remain in ordinary court.