John Carlo Mastrangelo

The moving parties brought a motion for leave to appeal an order dated September 25, 2020.

The Divisional Court dismissed the motion for leave to appeal and awarded costs of $7,500 to the responding party.

The respondents brought a motion to dismiss the applicant's amended application as frivolous, vexatious, or an abuse of process, arguing the applicant lacked legal capacity after assigning its rights in a real estate purchase agreement to a third party.

The court found that based on the related agreements, the applicant retained the right to sue the respondents regarding a dispute over the property's net area and purchase price.

The motion to dismiss was denied, and the applicant was awarded costs.

The appellant, Enbridge Gas Inc., appealed a decision of the Ontario Energy Board setting April 1, 2019, as the effective date for a natural gas rate increase, arguing the date should have been January 1, 2019.

The appellant contended the OEB failed to ensure rates were just and reasonable at all times and relied on irrelevant considerations, such as the timing of the application.

The Divisional Court dismissed the appeal, finding the OEB made no error of law and properly exercised its broad discretion to set just and reasonable rates by considering the timing of the application and the impact of retroactive rate changes on consumers.