Gus Triantafillopoulos

The plaintiff brought a motion to amend the statement of claim to increase damages from $1,000,000 to $6,000,000 based on a Future Cost of Care report dated January 27, 2025, and the plaintiff's failure to recover as well as expected following amputation of his arm.

The defendants opposed the motion, arguing that the evidence from discovery did not support the increased damages and that the amendment exceeded their insurance policy limits.

The court granted the motion, finding that all factors under the applicable test favoured amendment and that exceeding policy limits does not constitute non-compensable prejudice.

Costs were awarded to the plaintiff.

The applicant, TTC Insurance Company Limited (TTCICL), sought an order extending the time to commence their appeal of a Licence Appeal Tribunal (LAT) decision and an order joining this appeal with an existing application for judicial review.

Concurrently, the LAT and the Attorney General of Ontario sought leave to intervene in the appeal.

The court granted both motions, finding that the extension of time was justified given the recent Supreme Court decision in Yatar, the short delay, lack of prejudice to the respondent, and the overall interests of justice.

Intervenor status was granted to LAT and the Attorney General, with LAT's submissions restricted to procedural and jurisdictional issues, not the merits of its decision.

The defendant Ryder Truck Rental Canada Ltd. brought a motion in writing to lift a stay of proceedings and dismiss the action in its entirety without costs.

The plaintiffs had resolved their claim with the co-defendant insurer and elected not to proceed against the remaining defendants.

The court found that a previous noting in default of the individual defendant while the stay was in place was invalid, but that noting in default was not required to dismiss the action.

The court lifted the stay for the sole purpose of dismissing the action without costs on consent of the participating parties.

The defendant Ryder Truck Rental requested an order lifting a previously imposed stay of proceedings and dismissing the action on consent.

The court noted that the defendant Minassian had been noted in default after the stay order was issued, and that a noting in default obtained during a stay should not be given effect.

The court directed that any request to lift the stay and dismiss the action must be made by way of a formal motion in writing on notice to all parties.