Frank E. McNally

The plaintiff brought a motion to strike the jury notice in her motor vehicle collision action, seeking to proceed to trial before a judge alone due to concerns about potential delays and prejudice (financial and mental health) related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The court granted leave for the plaintiff to bring the motion but ultimately dismissed it.

The court found that the plaintiff's grounds, such as temporary jury selection bans, were no longer valid as COVID-19 restrictions had been lifted.

The court emphasized the substantive right to a jury trial and determined that the plaintiff's evidence regarding prejudice was insufficient or lacked concrete detail to justify overriding this right.

The court reserved costs to the trial judge and granted both parties leave to bring further motions if the pandemic circumstances change again.

The plaintiffs brought a motion to strike the defendant's jury notice due to trial delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The plaintiffs argued they would suffer prejudice from the delay itself, the impact on the plaintiff's mental health, and the financial erosion of her claim for economic loss.

The defendant argued the case involved chronic pain and credibility issues best suited for a jury, and that his litigation strategy relied on a jury trial.

The court found the plaintiffs established prejudice due to delay and financial erosion, which outweighed the defendant's broad assertions of prejudice.

The court conditionally struck the jury notice, ordering the trial to proceed before a judge alone on the adjourned date, but allowing for automatic reinstatement of the jury notice if the trial is further adjourned to a time when civil jury trials have resumed.

The plaintiffs sought an order to dispense with service of a motion record, remove litigation guardians for adult children, and approve a minor's settlement following a motor vehicle accident.

The court dismissed the request to dispense with service due to lack of evidence and outlined several procedural deficiencies regarding the minor plaintiffs reaching the age of majority, the consent documentation, and the form of the draft order.

The substantive aspects of the motion were deferred pending resolution of these procedural issues.

The plaintiffs sought partial indemnity costs following a six-week jury trial for personal injuries and Family Law Act claims, where a jury awarded damages of $141,500.

The defendant had made a nominal settlement offer of $7.

The court awarded partial indemnity fees of $159,249.90 plus HST and disbursements, rejecting the defendant's argument that costs should be proportionate to the amount recovered, particularly given the nominal settlement offer and the need to encourage genuine settlement efforts.

Following a jury trial for a motor vehicle accident, the court ruled on post-verdict issues including the statutory threshold and deductibles.

The court found the plaintiff met the threshold for permanent serious impairment due to a somatic symptom disorder.

However, the court held that the increased statutory deductibles enacted in August 2015 applied retrospectively, which reduced the jury's non-pecuniary and Family Law Act damage awards to zero.

After applying set-offs for statutory accident benefits, judgment was issued for the plaintiffs in the amount of $56,294.98.