Jayson Thomas

The appellant appealed a Small Claims Court decision regarding a commercial sublease dispute.

The appellant argued that the trial judge misapprehended evidence concerning its departure from the premises and whether the respondent was estopped from seeking damages due to an alleged agreement with the head lessor.

The Divisional Court dismissed the appeal, finding no palpable and overriding error in the trial judge's factual findings that the appellant voluntarily vacated the premises and that there was no evidence of an agreement relieving the appellant of its sublease obligations.

The defendant landlord sought leave to appeal an interlocutory order that dismissed its motion for security for costs, particulars, and a further and better Affidavit of Documents.

The motions judge had found the corporate plaintiff and its principal to be genuinely impecunious, making an order for security for costs unjust.

The Divisional Court dismissed the motion for leave to appeal, finding no good reason to doubt the correctness of the motions judge's application of the Rules of Civil Procedure, particularly regarding proportionality and the court's discretion to dispense with strict compliance.

The appellants, a police officer and the Chief of Police, appealed a Divisional Court decision upholding a Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario finding that the officer discriminated against a Black mail carrier.

The officer stopped and questioned the mail carrier while on patrol in an affluent neighbourhood.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding that the Tribunal reasonably applied the prima facie test for discrimination, correctly placed the onus on the complainant, and properly considered the unique statutory duties of police officers.