Jacqueline A. Horvat

The plaintiff sought leave to amend the statement of claim to correct the name of the plaintiff.

The defendant opposed, arguing prejudice and limitation period issues.

The court found that only two invoices were issued by the correct corporate entity, but those claims were out of time and duplicate.

The plaintiff failed to rebut the presumption of prejudice from the loss of a limitation defence.

The motion to amend was dismissed, and costs were awarded to the defendant.

The court considered a motion to strike all claims against Patricia France, the former President of St. Clair College, in an action by Waseem Habash for breach of contract, defamation, injurious falsehood, and related torts.

The court partially granted the motion, striking only the claim for intentional interference with contractual and/or economic relations, but granted leave to amend the claim for inducing breach of contract.

The court found that the pleadings for defamation and injurious falsehood were sufficient to proceed, as was the claim for inducing breach of contract (subject to amendment), and that there was an arguable basis for personal liability against Ms. France.

The court determined whether certain joint accounts held by the deceased, Christine Black, and her brother, Bruce Albert Chamberlain, were assets of the estate or a gift to Bruce.

The court found that Bruce failed to rebut the presumption of resulting trust and did not establish that the joint accounts were a valid gift.

The funds in the joint accounts were therefore declared assets of the estate for distribution to the residual beneficiaries.

The decision reviews the evidence, the parties' positions, and the applicable legal principles, including the need for corroboration under the Evidence Act and the requirements for establishing a gift of joint account funds.

This decision concerns the allocation of costs following the settlement of a multi-party action arising from a 2011 boating accident.

The only remaining issue was the amount of costs payable to the plaintiffs.

The court awarded $146,091.74 in costs, inclusive of disbursements and HST, finding this amount fair and reasonable.

The court declined to award a premium or substantial indemnity costs, finding no basis for such an award in the circumstances, and emphasized the importance of reasonableness and the discretion of the court in costs matters.

The applicant sought the immediate return of the parties' four youngest children to Windsor, Ontario, after the respondent relocated them to Calgary, Alberta.

The respondent brought a cross-motion seeking an interim order to permit the relocation and for sole decision-making responsibility and primary residence of the children.

The court dismissed the applicant's motion and granted the respondent's requests, finding it in the children's best interests to remain in Calgary due to a documented history of family violence by the applicant.