Henry Michael Gilmour Rosenberg

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association challenged the constitutionality of sections 31-37 of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act, which authorize administrative segregation (solitary confinement) in federal penitentiaries.

The applicant sought declarations that these provisions violate sections 7, 11(h), and 12 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The Court of Appeal found that prolonged administrative segregation (more than 15 consecutive days) violates section 12 of the Charter as cruel and unusual treatment and cannot be justified under section 1.

The court rejected arguments regarding inmates aged 18-21 and those with mental illness due to insufficient evidence, and dismissed the section 11(h) claim.

The court declared sections 31-37 of no force and effect to the extent they authorize prolonged administrative segregation.

The plaintiffs sought to certify a class action against CIBC Mortgages Inc. regarding the calculation of prepayment penalties on residential mortgages.

The plaintiffs alleged that the prepayment penalty clauses were illegal, contrary to public policy, unconscionable, and void for uncertainty, and that the defendant miscalculated the penalties by failing to apply a present value discount and using a shortened amortization period.

The court found that the pleadings did not disclose causes of action for illegality, unconscionability (as pleaded), uncertainty, or failure to apply a present value discount.

However, the court found a valid cause of action regarding the use of a shortened amortization period and certified the action as a class proceeding on that narrowed basis.

The plaintiffs brought a motion seeking an interim stay and an adjournment of a scheduled certification motion in Ontario.

The purpose was to pursue certification of a national class in a parallel class proceeding in British Columbia, citing the death of lead counsel in BC and anticipated legislative changes allowing opt-out national classes there.

The court denied the motion, finding the request was a late-stage tactical shift amounting to forum shopping, inefficient, and unfair to the defendant and class members, especially given the Ontario action's advanced stage and prior agreements on scheduling.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario considered a motion by the Attorney General of Canada to extend the suspension of a declaration of constitutional invalidity regarding sections 31-37 of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act.

The lower court had found that the "fifth working day review" for administrative segregation violated section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms due to the lack of meaningful independent review.

The respondent sought an extension to allow Parliament to enact Bill C-83, which would replace administrative segregation with "structured intervention units." The court granted the extension to April 30, 2019, finding that immediate effect would pose unacceptable danger to correctional personnel and inmates, despite expressing concern about Canada's delay in addressing the constitutional infirmity and the absence of interim measures or adequate explanation of how the proposed legislation would remedy the breach.

The plaintiffs brought a motion for certification of a class action, approval of a $1 million settlement agreement, and approval of class counsel's fees and disbursements.

The action alleged misrepresentations in WesternOne Inc.'s public documents regarding a construction project.

The court granted the motion, certifying the action, approving the settlement as fair and reasonable given the litigation risks, and fixing class counsel's fees and disbursements.

The net settlement fund, after deductions, was directed to the Access to Justice Fund via a cy-près payment due to the impracticality and uneconomical nature of direct distribution to individual class members.

The plaintiff brought a motion on consent to certify a class action against the Attorney General of Canada.

The action alleges that the Government of Canada breached inmates' Charter rights by subjecting them to prolonged administrative segregation in federal correctional institutions.

The court found that all criteria for certification under section 5(1) of the Class Proceedings Act, 1992 were satisfied and granted the certification motion.

The appellant appealed her conviction for assault simpliciter, arguing the trial judge reached irreconcilable verdicts, provided insufficient reasons, misapprehended evidence, and drew impermissible inferences.

The trial judge had acquitted the appellant of assault with a weapon but found she assaulted the complainant by forcibly removing him from her apartment.

The Superior Court of Justice found no material misapprehension of evidence or unreasonable inferences, concluding the evidence supported the conviction.

The appeal was dismissed.

The defendant physician brought a motion to dismiss the medical negligence claims of two minor plaintiffs on the basis that plaintiffs' counsel commenced the action without authority from their respective mothers, who were named as litigation guardians.

The evidence showed counsel had been unable to contact or obtain instructions from the mothers.

The court granted the motion and dismissed the minors' claims under Rule 15.02 of the Rules of Civil Procedure, noting the dismissal was without prejudice to the minors' right to commence their own actions upon turning 18.

The defendant, Her Majesty The Queen in Right of Ontario, brought a motion to stay an order dated August 4, 2017.

Following the Divisional Court's dismissal of Ontario's motion for leave to appeal on October 3, 2017, the Superior Court of Justice dismissed the motion to stay as moot.

Costs of the motion were reserved to the disposition of the defendants' motions for summary judgment.

The plaintiffs sought costs of $132,992.26 after successfully opposing the defendants' motions to quash summonses.

The defendants argued that costs should be reserved to the disposition of upcoming summary judgment motions, or alternatively that the costs claimed were excessive.

The court found that the plaintiffs' costs outline did not sufficiently delineate the time spent on the motions to quash versus other related motions.

Due to the lack of required facts and detailed submissions, the court reserved the costs of the motions to quash to the hearing of the motions for summary judgment.

The defendants, Ontario and OLG, brought motions to quash summonses to witness served by the plaintiffs on 13 non-parties, including former and current Cabinet ministers, in advance of pending summary judgment motions.

The plaintiffs sought to examine these witnesses under Rule 39.03 regarding the cancellation of the Slots at Race Tracks Program (SARP).

The court held that the defendants had standing to challenge the summonses and that the plaintiffs had met the low threshold of showing the proposed witnesses might have relevant evidence.

The court rejected arguments that the examinations were an abuse of process or barred by Cabinet confidentiality at this stage.

However, the court quashed the summonses served on Premier Kathleen Wynne and Minister Ted McMeekin on the basis of parliamentary privilege, as they were sitting members of the legislature.

The plaintiff sought leave under s. 138.8 of the Ontario Securities Act to commence an action for secondary market misrepresentation against Pretium Resources Inc. and Robert A. Quartermain.

The plaintiff alleged that the defendants failed to disclose material facts regarding conflicting expert opinions on the validity of a mineral resource estimate for the Brucejack Project, leading to a significant drop in share price.

The court granted leave, finding that the plaintiff established a reasonable possibility of success at trial.

The court determined that the concerns raised by Strathcona Mineral Services, a respected mining consultant, were material facts that a reasonable investor would consider important, despite Pretium's belief that the data was unreliable.

Furthermore, the court found a reasonable possibility that the defendants would not be able to establish the "no reasonable grounds to believe" branch of their reasonable investigation defense under s. 138.4(6) of the OSA.

Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Ontario (HMQ) sought an order to enforce an agreement between counsel to delay examinations under Rule 39.03 pending a motion to quash summonses, or alternatively, to stay the summonses.

The court applied the RJR MacDonald test for a stay, finding a serious issue to be tried regarding the quashing of summonses and the standing of HMQ/OLG to quash summonses for unrepresented witnesses.

The court determined that proceeding with examinations would cause irreparable harm to HMQ's legal interests by rendering the motion to quash moot.

The balance of convenience favoured HMQ, and the motion to stay the summonses was granted.

The Attorney General of Canada and the Joint Committee representing Class Members brought competing applications regarding the allocation of approximately $236 million in excess capital held in the trust fund established by the 1986-1990 Hepatitis C Settlement Agreement.

Canada argued the excess capital should be returned to it, while the Joint Committee sought to allocate the funds to increase benefits for Class Members.

The court dismissed Canada's application, finding that the excess capital allocation provision was intended to provide an opportunity to bridge compensatory gaps for Class Members.

The court approved seven of the Joint Committee's nine recommendations for allocating the funds, including increases to fixed payments and loss of services compensation, to be implemented by way of special distribution.

The plaintiffs' motion for leave to appeal an order discharging a Certificate of Pending Litigation and setting aside an interim injunction was previously dismissed.

The defendants sought costs of the motion on a partial indemnity basis in the amount of $3,852.87.

The plaintiffs argued the amount was excessive and proposed $1,500 payable in the cause.

The court found the defendants' claimed amount reasonable and ordered the plaintiffs to pay costs fixed at $3,852.87 within 30 days.

The plaintiffs' motion for leave to appeal an order discharging a Certificate of Pending Litigation and setting aside an interim injunction was dismissed.

The defendants, as the successful party on the motion, sought costs on a partial indemnity basis.

The court reviewed the defendants' costs outline and found the claimed amount reasonable, ordering the plaintiffs to pay costs fixed at $3,852.87 within 30 days.

The plaintiffs sought leave to appeal an order that discharged a Certificate of Pending Litigation and set aside an interim injunction.

The original order was based on the plaintiffs' failure to make full and fair disclosure of material facts, including the assumption and refinancing of mortgages by the defendants, and misrepresentation of property expense payments.

The court dismissed the motion for leave to appeal, finding no error in law by the motions judge and no matters of general or public importance to warrant an appeal.

The plaintiffs sought leave to appeal an order discharging a Certificate of Pending Litigation and setting aside an interim injunction regarding three properties they claimed were held in trust by the defendants.

The motion judge had discharged the orders due to the plaintiffs' failure to make full and fair disclosure of material facts, specifically that the defendants had assumed and refinanced mortgages on the properties.

The Divisional Court dismissed the motion for leave to appeal, finding no error of law, no conflicting decisions, and no matters of general importance to justify granting leave.

The defendants moved to set aside ex-parte certificates of pending litigation and an injunction previously granted to the plaintiffs regarding three properties.

The plaintiffs claimed the properties were transferred to the defendants in trust, but failed to disclose to the ex-parte judge that they were in mortgage arrears prior to the transfers and that the defendants had assumed nearly $1.2 million in mortgages.

The court found this failure to make full and fair disclosure shocking and sufficient to discharge the CPLs and the injunction.

The defendants' requests for immediate eviction and forfeiture of a $50,000 deposit were dismissed pending further evidence.

The plaintiffs and the defendant OLG brought cross-motions regarding discovery in an action for damages arising from the cancellation of the Slots at Racetrack Program.

The plaintiffs sought an order compelling OLG to produce relevant emails sent or received by current and former OLG employees on personal, non-OLG email accounts, and to produce OLG's email use and document retention policies.

OLG sought leave to conduct an advance form of discovery by written questions prior to oral examinations.

The court adjourned both motions, ordering OLG to produce its IT and document retention policies for the court's review, and granting the parties leave to file further affidavit evidence regarding OLG's request for written particulars.