James Spiroff

The applicant sought declarations of her mother's incapacity to manage property, personal care, and instruct counsel, and an order for a new capacity assessment, as well as removal of her mother's s. 3 counsel.

The court dismissed the applicant's motion, finding that previous assessments of incapacity for property and personal care were sufficient and that a further assessment for capacity to instruct counsel was unnecessary and intrusive.

The court affirmed the role of s. 3 counsel and the principle that counsel determines their client's capacity to instruct, absent strong evidence to the contrary.

The defendants moved to transfer the action from Woodstock to Windsor, citing convenience and judicial resources.

The plaintiff opposed, arguing its chosen venue was reasonable and Windsor was not significantly better, and cross-moved for consolidation with three Small Claims Court actions if the transfer was granted.

The court dismissed the defendants' motion, finding that Woodstock was a reasonable venue and Windsor was not "significantly better" based on a holistic application of Rule 13.1.02 factors.

Consequently, the plaintiff's cross-motion for consolidation was not addressed.

Costs were awarded to the plaintiff, in the cause.

This endorsement addresses cost issues following a summary judgment motion and an allegation of judicial bias raised by the plaintiffs.

The judge declined to recuse himself, finding no reasonable apprehension of bias.

The plaintiffs were ordered to pay $25,000 in costs to Thomson Mahoney Delorey (TMD) as per agreement.

However, the Shirley defendants were awarded no costs for the motion, as they had attended on a watching brief without formal participation.

No additional costs were awarded for dealing with the bias allegation.