Jack Neil Mccleave Jamieson

The defendants brought a motion for summary judgment to dismiss the plaintiff's action arising from the sale of a jointly owned property.

The plaintiff and one defendant were former law partners who co-owned the property.

The defendant received offers to purchase the property but concealed them from the plaintiff, instead using an agent to deceive the plaintiff into selling his interest for a lower amount.

The court found that a partnership still existed, fiduciary duties were breached, and the defendants engaged in civil fraud and unlawful means conspiracy.

The court dismissed the defendants' motion and granted a boomerang summary judgment in favour of the plaintiff, with damages to be determined.

The Township of White River and MPAC brought a motion to cancel or quash property assessment appeals for the 2009-2012 taxation years.

The previous owner, Domtar, had appealed the 2009 assessment but later sold the property to White River Forest Products Limited (WRFP) and settled its appeals, agreeing to withdraw them.

Due to an administrative error, the withdrawal was delayed, and the Board later reinstated the appeals at WRFP's request without notice to the other parties.

The Board found that it had jurisdiction to hear the motion under Rule 3.

It held that Domtar retained the right to withdraw the appeals despite the change in ownership, as the appeals were explicitly excluded from the asset purchase agreement.

The Board concluded that reinstating the appeals would cause greater prejudice to the Township, which had forgiven substantial tax arrears based on the settlement.

The motion was granted, and the appeals were cancelled.

The City of Dryden sought leave to appeal a decision of the Assessment Review Board regarding the municipal assessment of a pulp mill owned by Domtar Inc. The City argued the Board erred in law by applying a 51.7% deduction for economic obsolescence.

The Divisional Court dismissed the application, finding that the quantification of economic obsolescence is a question of fact, not law, and that the potential tax impact on the municipality's ratepayers did not raise an important question of law meriting the court's attention.

The appellant appealed the 2015 property assessment of a life-lease project for seniors.

The property had been converted to a 34-unit condominium in 2011, which significantly increased its assessed value.

The appellant began de-registering the condominium in 2014, but the process was not completed until February 2015.

The Assessment Review Board held that the property must be assessed based on its state and condition on the roll return date (December 9, 2014), at which time it was legally 34 condominium units.

The Board found no statutory authority under section 34 of the Assessment Act to issue a supplementary assessment reflecting the subsequent change in legal status.

The assessed values of the 34 units were confirmed.

The appellant appealed the property assessment of a large pulp and paper mill in Thunder Bay for the 2009-2012 taxation years.

The parties agreed to use the cost approach to value and agreed on the reproduction cost new of the buildings and yardworks.

The Board had to determine the appropriate deductions for functional obsolescence (excess capital and operating costs), physical depreciation, and external obsolescence due to the severe decline in the pulp and paper industry.

The Board rejected the income-based return on capital method proposed by the municipality and largely adopted the modified greenfield method proposed by the appellant's expert.

The Board reduced the assessed value of the property from $72,232,000 to $32,620,000 and found no further adjustment was required for equity.

Following a successful application compelling arbitration and appointment of an arbitrator, the court determined the appropriate costs award.

The moving parties sought substantial indemnity costs relying on a Rule 49 offer to settle.

The court held the offer lacked a meaningful element of compromise and therefore did not justify substantial indemnity costs under Rule 49.10.

Considering the complexity of the proceeding, the parties’ conduct, and the time reasonably required, the court reduced counsel’s claimed hours and awarded costs on a partial indemnity basis.

The applicant sought leave to appeal a decision of the Assessment Review Board that reduced the current value assessments of a zinc mine for the 1998, 1999, and 2000 taxation years.

The mine had suspended operations in late 1998 and was closed by 2000.

The applicant argued the Board made errors of law regarding the valuation method, economic obsolescence, and reliance on expert evidence.

The court dismissed the motion, finding the Board's decision was not patently unreasonable and the applicant failed to show good reason to doubt the correctness of the decision on a question of law.