James William Earl Doris

The court dismissed the plaintiff’s motion to compel the discovery of Anna Shlimak, a former consultant to Cronos Group Inc., either as a corporate representative or as a non-party.

The court found that the plaintiff had not met the requirements under the Rules of Civil Procedure for examining a non-party or a second corporate representative, as there was no evidence that the information sought could not be obtained from the existing corporate representative, Michael Gorenstein, or that he was unwilling or unable to provide complete answers.

The court also noted that the plaintiff had voluntarily declined a further day of examination with Gorenstein.

The defendants’ offer to answer written interrogatories, including those requiring input from Shlimak, was found to be a reasonable alternative.

Costs of $10,000 were awarded to the defendants.

This supplementary endorsement addresses a request from JTI-Macdonald Corp. regarding the adequacy of notice elements in the Claims Procedure Order within the ongoing Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) proceedings.

The court confirmed its satisfaction that the notice elements in the Claims Procedure Orders are reasonable in the circumstances, addressing an oversight from previous submissions.

The Superior Court of Justice addressed multiple motions within the complex Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) proceedings of JTI-Macdonald Corp., Imperial Tobacco Canada Limited, Imperial Tobacco Company Limited, and Rothmans, Benson & Hedges Inc. The court granted a stay extension until January 31, 2025, and approved Meeting Orders and Claims Procedure Orders.

These orders facilitate the advancement of comprehensive Plans of Arrangement, developed by the court-appointed Mediator and Monitors, aiming for a Pan-Canadian global settlement of tobacco claims totaling $32.5 billion.

The court found the plans were not "doomed to fail" despite outstanding issues regarding financial allocation among the Tobacco Companies and the creditor status of JTI-Macdonald TM Corp.

The Plaintiffs moved for approval of Pierringer settlement agreements with Third Party Defendants.

The Citibank Defendants consented to the approval but cross-moved for conditions ensuring continued discovery rights, including the right to examine Michael Yurkovich as a party.

The court approved the Pierringer agreements, imposing the condition that Third Party Defendants retain their obligations as if they remained parties, specifically granting the Citibank Defendants discovery and cross-examination rights due to the non-arm's-length relationship between the Plaintiffs and Third Party Defendants.

This endorsement concerns three tobacco companies (JTI-MacDonald Corp., Imperial Tobacco Canada Limited, Imperial Tobacco Company Limited, and Rothmans, Benson & Hedges Inc.) operating under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA).

Each applicant sought an extension of their stay period until September 30, 2024, to continue formulating plans of arrangement.

Imperial also requested authorization to terminate a retirement plan and post security for a vaping product license.

RBH sought a procedural amendment for employee grievances.

The court, finding no opposition and satisfied with the applicants' good faith, diligence, and sufficient resources, granted all requested relief, noting significant progress in ongoing mediation.

The appellants appealed a motion judge's order granting leave to amend a statement of claim.

The respondents moved to quash the appeal, arguing the order was interlocutory and thus the Court of Appeal lacked jurisdiction.

The court found the order to be interlocutory, confirming that appeals of such orders lie with the Divisional Court with leave, not the Court of Appeal.

The motion to quash was granted.

The plaintiff sought certification of a proposed securities class action under the Ontario Securities Act, alleging misrepresentation by the defendants regarding the value of Cronos Group Inc. shares.

The defendants opposed certification and brought a forum non conveniens motion to stay claims of non-Canadian shareholders who purchased shares on the NASDAQ exchange, arguing these shareholders were already covered by a parallel U.S. class action.

The court granted certification for the proposed class, including U.S. shareholders, and dismissed the defendants' forum non conveniens motion, emphasizing Ontario's jurisdiction and the policy of access to justice.

The appellant sought leave to bring a class action against Cronos Group Inc. and others for alleged misrepresentations in public filings.

The motion judge dismissed the leave and certification motions, characterizing the claim as alleging thousands of separate misrepresentations and finding insufficient evidence of individual materiality.

The Court of Appeal found this characterization erroneous, holding that the claim alleged one central misrepresentation regarding inflated revenues.

The Court determined there was a reasonable possibility of success, given the admitted misrepresentations, subsequent corrections, and share price drops, despite conflicting expert evidence on causation.

The appeal was allowed, leave granted, and the certification issue remitted to the Superior Court.

The appellants (defendants at trial) appealed a trial judgment that found them in breach of contract for failing to sell a car dealership to the respondent (plaintiff at trial) and awarded $5 million in damages in lieu of specific performance.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, affirming the trial judge's finding that a binding agreement on essential terms had been reached between the parties, despite the absence of a formal written document.

The court also upheld the trial judge's calculation of damages, which reflected the lost opportunity based on the difference between the respondent's offer and a higher third-party offer accepted by the appellants.

The plaintiff in a proposed securities class action sought an "exclusivity order" to prevent other actions on the same subject matter from being commenced in Ontario without leave of the court.

The defendants did not object.

The court denied the request, emphasizing that Ontario's established procedure for managing competing class actions involves a "carriage motion" once rival claims emerge, rather than a pre-emptive exclusivity order.

The court distinguished the Federal Court's "inclusivity order" in Heyder v. Canada (Attorney General) as not overriding Ontario's endorsed approach.

The appellant sought an order declaring that it had properly commenced an arbitration by written demand dated October 6, 2017.

The arbitration clause in the insurance contract allowed the insured to select the venue and procedural laws of Bermuda or one of London, Toronto, or Vancouver under the English Arbitration Act of 1996.

The appellant argued that while the Act was incorporated by reference, its procedural provisions were excluded for arbitrations outside the UK, and that the UNCITRAL Rules would apply instead.

The Court of Appeal disagreed, finding that the plain wording of the contract required that where Toronto was the seat chosen, the arbitration be conducted in accordance with the procedural laws set out in the Act.

The Court also declined to determine whether the arbitration had been properly commenced, reserving that question to the arbitrators.

Crystallex International Corporation applied for the recognition and enforcement of a US $1.202 billion international arbitration award against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

The award stemmed from Venezuela's expropriation of Crystallex's investment in a gold mining project, in breach of a bilateral investment treaty.

The court found that service on Venezuela was properly effected under the State Immunity Act and that Crystallex satisfied the requirements of Article 35 of the UNCITRAL Model Law for recognition and enforcement.

No grounds for refusal under Article 36 were raised or found, as the dispute was arbitrable and enforcement consistent with Ontario public policy.

The court granted the order for recognition and enforcement, including pre and post-award interest, and awarded costs to Crystallex.

The plaintiffs sought consent certification of a proposed securities class action alleging that the defendant mining company and certain officers misrepresented the scope and impact of water inflow problems at a Quebec gold mine, causing losses to purchasers of the company’s shares.

The court considered the certification requirements under s. 5(1) of the Class Proceedings Act, 1992 and, given the parties’ consent and the evidentiary record, found that the statutory criteria were satisfied.

The plaintiffs also sought leave under Part XXIII.1 of the Securities Act to pursue statutory secondary market misrepresentation claims.

The court held that the action was brought in good faith and that there was a reasonable possibility of success at trial.

Certification and leave were granted.

The appeal addressed whether a federal regulator had statutory authority to implement a market-based regime requiring negotiations over compensation for retransmission of local television signals.

The majority held the proposed regime exceeded statutory authority and conflicted with the copyright scheme governing retransmission rights and exceptions.

The dissent would have found a sufficient statutory basis and no operational conflict between the two statutes.

The appeal was allowed, with costs throughout.