Farley

The appellants appealed a decision regarding legal fees charged by their former lawyer for a real estate transaction.

The appellant client testified that a $1,500 fee was agreed upon, which the lawyer did not contradict.

The Divisional Court allowed the appeal in part, reducing the fee award to $1,500.

The court dismissed the appellant's allegations that the lawyer conspired with the purchaser's counsel to defraud her, finding no evidence to support the claims and noting the appellant had signed a mutual release.

This is a supplementary reasons for judgment regarding costs following an appeal and a Rule 59 motion concerning a pension plan death benefit.

The successful appellant sought substantial indemnity costs payable out of the pension plan fund.

The court found that the litigation clarified a problematic part of the Pension Benefits Act, benefiting members and administrators of plans throughout Ontario.

Applying the principle that costs of litigation necessary for the administration of a trust should be paid from the trust, the court awarded the appellant substantial indemnity costs of $40,000 plus disbursements, payable by the Board from the funds of the Plan.

The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board brought a motion to amend a previous Divisional Court order regarding the allocation of a deceased member's pre-retirement death benefit between his former spouse and his surviving spouse.

The court held that the former spouse's entitlement under a separation agreement was not limited to benefits accrued after 1986, as the Pension Benefits Act provisions allowing assignment of pension benefits on marriage breakdown applied to both pre-1987 and post-1986 benefits.

However, the court found that section 51(2) of the Act limited the former spouse's entitlement to 50% of the benefits accrued during the period of marriage, which ended on the date of their divorce.

The applicant union sought judicial review of an Ontario Labour Relations Board decision granting a certification application by OPSEU for newly hired paramedics.

The applicant argued the paramedics were already bound by its existing collective agreement with the municipality.

The OLRB relied on extrinsic evidence to find the collective agreement's scope clause did not automatically include the paramedics.

The Divisional Court quashed the OLRB's decision, holding that the scope clause was unambiguous and the OLRB's reliance on extrinsic evidence to interpret it was patently unreasonable.

The appellant appealed a Financial Services Tribunal decision that directed the Superintendent not to order the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board to pay her a pre-retirement death benefit.

The appellant and the deceased plan member had separated and executed a separation agreement dividing the pension, but the deceased later remarried.

The Divisional Court held that under section 48(13) of the Pension Benefits Act, the subsequent spouse's entitlement to the death benefit is subject to the former spouse's interest set out in a valid domestic contract.

The appeal was allowed and the Board was ordered to pay the appellant her share of the benefit.

The College of Physicians and Surgeons appealed an order granting a physician a stay of his licence revocation pending his appeal of a finding of incompetence.

The College argued that s. 71 of the Health Professions Procedural Code ousted the court's jurisdiction to grant a stay.

The Divisional Court dismissed the appeal, holding that s. 71 merely eliminates the automatic stay that would otherwise apply under the Statutory Powers Procedure Act, but does not remove the court's inherent and statutory jurisdiction to grant a stay on application where appropriate.

The defendants appealed an order dismissing their motion to enjoin the plaintiffs from seeking access to discovery evidence in parallel U.S. anti-trust litigation.

The defendants argued that the plaintiffs were attempting to circumvent Ontario's discovery rules by obtaining discovery in the U.S. before certification of the class action.

The Divisional Court dismissed the appeal, finding that the plaintiffs were merely seeking passive access to evidence already discovered in the U.S. litigation, rather than actively conducting discovery.

The court held that such evidence gathering does not offend Ontario's discovery rules or the implied undertaking rule, and that the U.S. court should determine whether to grant access under its own protective order.

The appellant contractor obtained a judgment against the owner and garnished funds held by an escrow agent.

The respondent, another judgment creditor, also garnished the funds.

The sheriff distributed the funds pro rata under the Creditors' Relief Act.

The appellant appealed, arguing the funds were impressed with a trust under s. 7(2) of the Construction Lien Act.

The Divisional Court allowed the appeal, holding that the funds were trust funds, were not the property of the debtor, and were therefore not subject to pro rata distribution under the Creditors' Relief Act.

The applicant sought judicial review of an Ontario Labour Relations Board decision that included secretaries to judges in a union bargaining unit.

The Divisional Court quashed the Board's decision, holding that the Board erred in its interpretation of judicial independence.

The majority found that including judicial secretaries in the bargaining unit created an inevitable conflict of interest, as they are integral to the administrative independence and confidential functions of the judiciary.