J. Hawn

The defendants brought a motion for contempt against the plaintiff, alleging the plaintiff breached interim and interlocutory injunctions prohibiting the use, removal, or modification of conduit supplied and installed by the defendants.

The court applied the three-part test for civil contempt and found beyond a reasonable doubt that the orders were clear, the plaintiff had knowledge of them, and the plaintiff intentionally breached the orders by connecting fibre optic cable in the prohibited conduit.

The plaintiff was found in contempt, with the penalty phase to follow.

The parties were scheduled for a four-hour special appointment hearing for a motion brought by the defendant.

Despite filing a Certificate of Readiness, the parties failed to adhere to the timetable and the matter was not ready to proceed.

The court noted that the failure to bring the matter forward earlier resulted in wasted court time.

As a consequence, the court adjourned the motion to a speak-to date and ordered that no new hearing date would be scheduled until counsel can confirm that all preparatory steps are complete.