Jessica Kras

This is an appeal from a motion judge's decision dismissing the plaintiffs' motion to amend their pleadings in a class action alleging a multi-bank conspiracy to fix gold and silver prices and engage in 'spoofing'.

The motion judge had found the proposed amendments time-barred or improper for joinder.

The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, finding that the motion judge erred in law by treating amendments as new causes of action when they were alternative theories based on existing facts, and by misapplying the 'actual knowledge' standard for limitation periods.

The Court also found a palpable and overriding error in the motion judge's assessment of JP Morgan's joinder, concluding that the CFTC order did not preclude conspiratorial spoofing allegations.

The amendments were allowed, with the possibility for some respondents to plead a limitations defence at trial.

Following the settlement of the main class proceeding, the defendant and third party plaintiff brought a consent motion to dismiss the third party claims against the remaining third parties.

The court granted the order dismissing the third party action with prejudice and without costs.

The plaintiffs brought a motion for leave to appeal the order of Glustein J. dated August 8, 2022.

The Divisional Court dismissed the motion for leave to appeal.

The moving parties were ordered to pay $5,000 in all-inclusive costs to the responding parties.

The plaintiffs in a class action regarding a charitable donation tax shelter brought a motion to compel the defendants' former legal counsel to produce their client files and answer questions refused during discovery.

The plaintiffs argued that solicitor-client privilege was vitiated by the fraud exception, or alternatively, waived through disclosure of a tax opinion and sharing of information with third-party consultants.

The court dismissed the motion, holding that the fraud exception applies only to criminal conduct, not civil fraud.

The court further held that disclosure of the stand-alone tax opinion did not waive privilege over the entire file, and that communications shared with third-party consultants were protected by common interest privilege and the functional extension of solicitor-client privilege.

This proposed class action sought an ex parte Mareva injunction to freeze assets, including cryptocurrency, of organizers and participants in the 'Freedom Convoy' protest in downtown Ottawa.

The plaintiffs, residents, businesses, and employees, alleged damages from private and public nuisance.

The court found an apparently strong case for tort liability and a serious risk of asset dissipation, particularly with funds purposely moved to avoid seizure.

The injunction was granted, freezing funds controlled by the defendants, and the requirement for an undertaking for damages was waived due to the public interest and class action nature of the case.

The court also approved an amendment to the statement of claim to expand plaintiff classes and add defendants.

During a medical negligence trial, the plaintiffs brought a motion to strike the evidence of the defendant doctor's emergency medicine expert.

The plaintiffs alleged the expert was biased because his spouse, also a physician, had privileges at the defendant hospital.

The court applied the Mohan and White Burgess framework and found no disqualifying bias, noting the expert's opinion was formed before his spouse obtained privileges and he had no relationship with the defendants.

The motion to strike the expert evidence was dismissed.

The plaintiffs brought a medical malpractice and wrongful death action against an emergency room physician, two nurses, and a hospital following the sudden death of a 40-year-old woman from an acute aortic dissection.

The plaintiffs alleged that the defendants breached the standard of care by failing to diagnose the condition, failing to order a CT angiogram, and failing to refer the patient to a specialist in a timely manner.

The plaintiffs also alleged that the medical records were falsified and that the defendants' care was compromised by anti-Black racism and sexism.

The court dismissed the action, finding that the physician and nurses met the applicable standards of care.

The court held that the patient presented with symptoms consistent with more common conditions like acute coronary syndrome, and that the physician's investigative approach was appropriate.

The court also found no evidence of record falsification or discriminatory conduct.

The plaintiffs commenced a medical malpractice action after a relative's death, which the defendants argued was statute-barred under the Trustee Act.

The plaintiffs pleaded fraudulent concealment of CT imaging to toll the limitation period.

The motion judge dismissed the negligence claims, finding no causal connection between the concealed imaging and the failure to sue within the limitation period, but allowed breach of contract and PHIPA claims against the hospital to continue.

The Court of Appeal allowed the plaintiffs' appeal, holding that the motion judge erred by deciding the factual question of fraudulent concealment as a question of law under Rule 21.01(1)(a).

The Court found the plea of fraudulent concealment was neither patently ridiculous nor manifestly incapable of proof, and that factual disputes regarding causation should not be determined on such a motion.

The applicant and respondent jointly owned a property that was sold.

The applicant sought an interim injunction, payment into court under Rule 45.02, or an order under the Partition Act to freeze the respondent's share of the net sale proceeds, claiming she owed him for disproportionate carrying costs.

The respondent brought a cross-motion to release her half of the proceeds to close on a new property.

The court dismissed the applicant's motion, finding he failed to establish irreparable harm or a right to a specific fund, and that the balance of convenience heavily favoured the respondent.

The respondent's cross-motion was granted.