Jonah Abba Arnold

The appellants, estates and family members of victims of the downing of Ukrainian Airlines flight PS752 by Iran, sought to enforce a default judgment against Iranian properties and bank accounts in Canada.

The motion judge dismissed the enforcement, finding the properties enjoyed diplomatic immunity.

The Court of Appeal upheld this decision, ruling that the Canadian Executive's determination, via a s. 11 certificate under the Foreign Missions and International Organizations Act, that the Iranian property retains diplomatic status is conclusive and not subject to judicial review based on the property's current "use" for diplomatic purposes, even after diplomatic relations were severed.

The court affirmed the Executive's exclusive prerogative in foreign relations and diplomatic immunity matters.

This endorsement addresses a motion for default judgment brought by family members of victims of the Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS 752 crash, which was downed by the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The plaintiffs sought compensation for wrongful death, including damages under the Family Law Act, pain and suffering for the estates, and punitive damages.

The defendants did not defend the action.

The court consolidated this action with a previous, identical proceeding (Zarei v. Iran) and adopted Justice Belobaba's findings on liability (that the downing was an intentional act of terrorism) and the viability and quantum of damages.

The court also addressed preliminary procedural issues, granting orders to seal the court file, anonymize the plaintiffs' names due to fear of retribution, and appoint litigation administrators for the deceased estates.

The court awarded specific amounts for loss of guidance, care, and companionship, pain and suffering for each deceased victim's estate, and further punitive damages, reasoning that the prior punitive award in Zarei only sanctioned the wrongs against those specific victims, and a new award was necessary to punish the defendants for the torts committed against the present plaintiffs.

The plaintiffs, victims of the downing of Ukraine Airlines flight PS752, sought to enforce a default judgment against the Islamic Republic of Iran by seizing diplomatic properties and bank accounts in Canada.

The Attorney General of Canada intervened, relying on a certificate issued by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development, which certified the assets as diplomatic property enjoying immunity.

The court dismissed the plaintiffs' motion, affirming that the executive branch's determination of diplomatic status, as evidenced by the Minister's certificate under the Foreign Missions and International Organizations Act, prevents execution of the judgment against such property, consistent with appellate precedent.

The plaintiffs brought a motion seeking to amend and extend a prior default judgment (Zarei Action) to include new plaintiffs (Smith Action) and to obtain a declaration for a writ of seizure and sale against the defendants' diplomatic property.

The court dismissed the request to amend/extend the default judgment, holding that Rule 59.06 of the Rules of Civil Procedure does not permit adding new parties or causes of action not originally pleaded.

The court also found the enforcement request premature, as the default judgment had not yet been formally transmitted to the foreign state (Iran) as required by the State Immunity Act, and the 60-day period for Iran to challenge the judgment had not expired.

However, the court granted a sealing order for the unredacted materials of the new plaintiffs due to a credible fear of reprisal.

Addendum to a civil damages judgment awarding the plaintiff compensation and addressing the calculation of pre-judgment interest.

After awarding damages in earlier reasons, the court reviewed a calculation of pre-judgment interest submitted by plaintiff’s counsel pursuant to the Courts of Justice Act.

The court accepted the calculation as accurate.

The plaintiff was therefore awarded additional pre-judgment interest in the specified amount.