The accused was charged with assault following an incident in which he ejected his former intimate partner from his home by tipping her mattress, causing her to fall to the floor.
The Crown proceeded summarily.
The trial turned on conflicting accounts of the severity and nature of the contact.
The court found that while the accused did eject the complainant from her bed, the force used was justified under the common law right of an occupier to eject a trespasser, as the complainant had breached the implied term of her licence to occupy the premises by engaging in egregious property damage and had refused repeated demands to leave.
The court rejected defences under sections 34 and 35 of the Criminal Code but found the common law defence available and applicable.
