The defendants brought a motion to strike out portions of the plaintiff's statement of claim alleging negligent investigation, malicious prosecution, and Charter breaches, arguing they were barred by issue estoppel following a police disciplinary hearing.
The court found that while the elements of issue estoppel were met, it would be unjust to apply the doctrine because the disciplinary hearing used a higher 'clear and convincing evidence' standard of proof compared to the civil balance of probabilities standard.
The motion to strike was dismissed, but the action was transferred to Stratford on consent.
