James Cooper

Following the dismissal of the appellants' appeal from an Ontario Securities Commission decision finding them guilty of securities fraud, the Commission and the intervenors sought costs.

The Commission sought $40,000, which the court awarded in full on a partial indemnity basis.

The intervenors, who were the appellants' former counsel and intervened to defend against allegations of ineffective assistance, sought over $53,000 on a substantial indemnity basis.

The court held that the intervenors were entitled to costs as parties to the appeal, but reduced the scale to partial indemnity and fixed their costs at $20,000.

The appellants appealed the Ontario Securities Commission's decisions finding them liable for securities fraud and imposing severe sanctions, including lifetime trading bans, disgorgement, and administrative penalties.

The appellants argued that the presiding commissioner was biased, that their counsel at the hearing was incompetent and in a conflict of interest, and that the findings of fraud and the penalties were unreasonable.

The Divisional Court dismissed the appeal, finding no reasonable apprehension of bias, rejecting the fresh evidence regarding counsel's competence as it would not have affected the outcome, and concluding that the Commission's findings on fraud and sanctions were reasonable and supported by the evidence.

The applicant sought judicial review of an arbitrator's decision regarding Statutory Accident Benefits without first appealing to the Director's Delegate as required by s. 283(1) of the Insurance Act.

After a previous stay, the applicant's late appeal to the Director's Delegate was dismissed.

The Divisional Court dismissed the current application for judicial review, holding that it lacked jurisdiction to review the arbitrator's decision directly and that the applicant must instead seek judicial review of the Director's Delegate's final decision.

The self-represented appellant appealed a trial judgment, arguing the trial judge should have adjourned the trial on his own initiative so the appellant could confer with counsel, given his head injury and unreasonable positions.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding the trial judge conducted a fair trial and repeatedly offered adjournments which the appellant refused.