The defendants, the Ottawa Police Services Board et al., brought a motion for summary judgment seeking to dismiss the plaintiff's claim of negligent investigation.
The plaintiff, a 74-year-old Polish-speaking man with limited English, was arrested and charged with sexual assault and forcible confinement based on a complaint from an individual with a significant history of police contacts and dishonesty, which was not disclosed at the plaintiff's bail hearing.
The court found that while initial reasonable grounds for arrest might have existed, there were conflicting expert opinions regarding the police's standard of care in their subsequent and ongoing investigation.
Citing the Supreme Court's framework in Hyrniak v. Mauldin, the court determined that these genuine issues of fact, particularly the contentious expert evidence on causation and standard of care, required a trial.
The defendants' motion for summary judgment was dismissed, and they were ordered to pay costs to the plaintiff.
