Garth Bleier Dingwall

The court granted the motion by the defendants Mario Cortis and MediHub International Inc. for security for costs, ordering $80,000 to be posted by the plaintiff, John Davis, but stayed the order for 90 days due to evidence that Davis may imminently return to Ontario.

The decision reviews the legal test for security for costs, the relevance and admissibility of new evidence, and the balancing of interests between the parties.

The court found that Davis had not demonstrated that an order for security for costs would be unjust, and that the amount sought by the defendants was excessive, setting a lower amount.

The ruling also addresses delay, bad faith allegations, and the complexity of the case.

The appellant tenant failed to appear at the peremptory hearing and failed to pay the monthly rent as required by the conditions of a previous adjournment.

The Divisional Court dismissed the appeal and awarded costs of $5,000 to the respondent landlord.

The self-represented appellant tenant sought an adjournment of the appeal hearing because the respondent landlord failed to comply with a case management directive regarding the service of materials.

The tenant received the materials only a week before the hearing and required time to seek legal advice.

The Divisional Court granted the adjournment on conditions, including that the tenant pay rent on specified dates, and reserved the costs of the attendance to the panel hearing the appeal.

The vendors appealed a judgment granting specific performance of an Agreement of Purchase and Sale for residential property in Ajax, Ontario.

The vendors had breached the agreement by failing to provide vacant possession on the closing date.

The sole ground of appeal was that the purchaser's delay of 17 months before commencing the application disentitled him from obtaining specific performance.

The Court of Appeal upheld the application judge's decision, finding no palpable and overriding errors in the factual findings regarding the property's uniqueness, the inadequacy of damages as a remedy, the reasonableness of the delay in the circumstances, and the absence of hardship to the vendors.

This endorsement addresses the issue of costs following a trial where there was divided success between the parties.

The Defendants sought costs on a partial indemnity basis, arguing they were the successful parties as they recovered compensation and secured protection from mortgage liability.

The Plaintiff also sought costs.

The court agreed that the Defendants were the successful parties for the purpose of costs but adjusted the amount claimed by the Defendants downwards.

The court awarded costs, including disbursements and taxes, to the Defendants in the amount of $45,000, to be paid by the Plaintiff.

The applicant sought specific performance of an agreement of purchase and sale for a residential property after the vendors refused to close unless the purchaser assumed an existing tenant.

The court held that the agreement unequivocally required vacant possession, the entire agreement clause barred reliance on alleged pre-contract discussions, and the vendors' refusal constituted anticipatory breach.

Applying the modern specific performance framework, the court found the property sufficiently unique to this purchaser, particularly given neighbourhood characteristics and affordability in a rapidly rising market, and held that damages would be inadequate.

Delay in commencing the application and alleged hardship to the vendors did not disentitle the applicant to equitable relief.