Jonathan C. Lisus

The moving party sought advice and directions under a court‑approved CCAA Plan of Arrangement governing the restructuring of Canada’s third‑party asset‑backed commercial paper market.

The administrator argued the Plan and related agreements permitted it to terminate credit default swap transactions and fund termination payments from collateral without dealer consent below specified thresholds.

A dealer noteholder opposed, asserting the agreements required negotiated consent where collateral beyond a specific trade would be affected.

The court held that the contractual language did not eliminate consent requirements and that the court’s broad CCAA jurisdiction could not be used to effectively rewrite the negotiated agreements.

The request for declaratory or corrective relief was refused.

Following earlier motions seeking to set aside or vary an ex parte order and discharge certificates of pending litigation registered against properties connected to bankrupt estates, the trustee sought costs.

The moving parties argued they had achieved partial success and that costs should be in the cause or borne by each party.

The court found the trustee had been essentially successful in maintaining the certificates of pending litigation and defending the scope of the production order, notwithstanding limited clarification provided in the earlier endorsement.

After considering objections regarding time spent on cross-examinations and the factors in rule 57.01(1), the court fixed partial indemnity costs in favour of the trustee.

The spouses of two bankrupt individuals and related family trusts moved to set aside or vary an ex parte order obtained by the bankruptcy trustee that authorized production of financial records and permitted the registration of certificates of pending litigation against matrimonial homes held in the spouses’ names.

The applicants argued that the trustee improperly proceeded without notice, failed to provide full and fair disclosure, and did not follow statutory investigative steps under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act before seeking court relief.

The court held that the trustee had reasonable grounds to proceed ex parte due to concerns that the bankrupts might encumber the properties and that there had been no material non‑disclosure.

However, the court found that the authorization of certificates of pending litigation was procedurally irregular because no proceeding claiming an interest in land had yet been commenced.

The order was varied so that the certificates would be discharged unless the trustee commenced a proceeding asserting an interest in the properties within a specified period.

The defendant brought a motion for security for costs under Rule 56.01(1) of the Rules of Civil Procedure on the basis that the plaintiff was ordinarily resident outside Ontario.

The plaintiff opposed the motion, arguing delay, lack of leave under Rule 48.04, and claiming impecuniosity such that ordering security would prevent continuation of the action.

The court found that the plaintiff appeared to be ordinarily resident in Costa Rica and had not displaced that appearance.

The plaintiff failed to provide sufficient evidence of impecuniosity and declined cross‑examination on his affidavit.

The court concluded it was just to order security and fixed the amount based on partial indemnity costs estimated through trial.

The appellants appealed an order declining to stay the respondent's action.

The appellants argued that an arbitration clause in their agreement encompassed the issues raised in the litigation.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding that there was no arguable arbitration provision in the contract at the relevant time, as the written contracts containing such clauses had expired and the appellants had previously communicated their desire not to arbitrate disputes.

The court also agreed with the motion judge that the claims did not fall within the alleged clause and that Ontario was the more convenient forum.

The appellants, landlords in Oshawa, appealed a judgment ordering them to cease using their properties as lodging houses.

They argued their properties operated as single dwelling establishments for groups of tenants, primarily students.

The Court of Appeal upheld the application judge's finding that the properties were rented on a room-by-room, short-term basis, functioning as lodging houses rather than single housekeeping establishments.

The court also rejected the argument that s. 35(2) of the Planning Act precluded considering the relationship among renters.

The appeal was dismissed.

The defendant sought leave to appeal an order certifying a class action alleging vertical price-fixing conspiracies in the sale of engineering resins.

The plaintiff cross-appealed, seeking to expand the class definition to include Tier 1 manufacturers.

The Divisional Court dismissed both motions for leave to appeal, finding no conflicting decisions and no good reason to doubt the correctness of the motion judge's discretionary, fact-driven conclusions regarding the class definition and the common issues of loss and liability.

The moving party sought leave to appeal a decision of the Ontario Municipal Board that dismissed its appeals against the City's official plan and zoning by-law amendments for the redevelopment of a hospital site.

The moving party opposed the demolition of the old hospital building, raising environmental, affordable housing, and heritage preservation concerns.

The Divisional Court dismissed the motion for leave to appeal, finding no good reason to doubt the correctness of the Board's decision on any of the raised issues.

The applicant physician sought judicial review to prohibit the respondent tribunal from proceeding with a patient's claim of sexual assault filed 10 years prior.

The applicant had been exonerated by both the police and his professional college shortly after the allegations were made.

The tribunal had closed its file for over four years before reopening it, and the applicant presented evidence that key witnesses' memories had faded.

The Divisional Court granted the application and stayed the proceedings, finding that the extraordinary delay compromised the fairness of the hearing and amounted to a gross abuse of process.

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) brought a motion to intervene in a Crown appeal concerning the exclusion of evidence obtained during a dog-assisted search of a high school.

The CCLA also sought permission to adduce fresh evidence, including newspaper articles and a letter from the Ontario Principal's Council.

The court granted the CCLA leave to intervene, file a factum, and participate in oral argument, recognizing its experience and expertise.

However, the court denied the request to adduce fresh evidence, finding the proposed materials lacked probative value and would unfairly widen the scope of the appeal.

The plaintiff suffered permanent vestibular toxicity after being treated with the antibiotic Gentamicin for a severe sinus infection.

At trial, the otolaryngologist was found liable for failing to properly monitor for ototoxicity and failing to emphasize the need for ongoing vigilance regarding symptoms.

The trial judge also granted a non-suit dismissing the action against the home care nurses (VON).

On appeal, the Court of Appeal overturned the finding of liability against the doctor, concluding there was no evidence that the two-to-three-day delay in discontinuing the medication caused the plaintiff's injuries.

The Court also rejected an alternative argument based on lack of informed consent, finding that a reasonable person in the plaintiff's position would have continued the medication.

The appeal against the VON was dismissed as no expert evidence established the standard of care for home care nurses.

The defendant appealed a Master's order permitting two of the four plaintiffs to discontinue their action.

The plaintiffs had alleged that the defendant stole $180,000 from their safety deposit box.

The Divisional Court allowed the appeal, finding the Master was clearly wrong and misapprehended the evidence.

Permitting the discontinuance halfway through examinations for discovery caused real prejudice to the defendant, who would lose the right to examine the discontinuing plaintiffs on their pleadings and lose two potential sources for costs recovery in an action where he was accused of theft.

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario sought judicial review of an interlocutory order made by its Discipline Committee.

The Committee had ordered the production of confidential third-party medical and counselling records relating to several complainants who alleged sexual abuse by the respondent physician.

The Divisional Court dismissed the application, finding that the Committee reasonably applied the principles from R. v. Mills by analogy to balance the physician's right to make full answer and defence against the complainants' privacy rights.

The Court upheld the disclosure orders for four of the five complainants.

The appellant physician engaged in a sexual relationship with a patient and his certificate of registration was revoked pursuant to the mandatory revocation provisions of the Health Professions Procedural Code.

He appealed, arguing the provisions violated sections 7, 12, and 2(d) of the Charter.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding that the Charter does not protect the purely economic right to practice a profession.

Even if engaged, the provisions did not violate section 7 as they were not unconstitutionally vague or overbroad, did not constitute cruel and unusual punishment under section 12, and did not infringe freedom of association under section 2(d).

The plaintiff sued the defendant for sexual assault and sought production of the Crown brief from the defendant's related criminal proceedings.

The criminal trial had been stayed, and the defendant's statements to the police had been excluded due to a breach of his s. 10(b) Charter rights.

The Court of Appeal upheld the Divisional Court's creation of a screening mechanism, requiring notice to the Attorney General and police before a Crown brief can be produced in civil proceedings.

However, the Court of Appeal reversed the Divisional Court's ruling that the defendant's excluded police statements were shielded from production, holding that the criminal rule of automatic exclusion for conscriptive evidence does not apply in the civil discovery context.

The defendant franchisor appealed an order certifying a class proceeding brought by franchisees regarding the distribution of rebates and allowances under a standard form franchise agreement.

The franchisor argued that the representative plaintiffs could not fairly and adequately represent the class and had a conflict of interest because they were not indebted to the franchisor, unlike other franchisees.

The Divisional Court dismissed the appeal, finding no palpable and overriding error in the motion judge's conclusion that the representative plaintiffs could fairly and adequately represent the class and that their lack of indebtedness did not create a conflict of interest on the common issues.

The appellant appealed the dismissal of her medical malpractice action against the respondent doctor, who had prescribed Garasone for ear infections, allegedly causing ototoxicity.

The Court of Appeal upheld the trial judge's findings on credibility, standard of care, and causation, finding no palpable and overriding error.

However, the Court granted leave to appeal costs and varied the trial costs award to disbursements only, reflecting the respondent's change in evidence from discovery to trial and conduct that attracted negative comment.

The appellants appealed a summary judgment dismissing their medical malpractice action against the respondent family physician.

The appellants alleged the respondent over-prescribed narcotics, causing the appellant husband's addiction.

The motions judge dismissed the action as statute-barred under the one-year limitation period in the Regulated Health Professions Act, finding the appellants knew the material facts when they complained to the College of Physicians and Surgeons over two years before commencing the action.

The Court of Appeal upheld the decision, finding the discoverability rule did not postpone the limitation period as the appellants were aware of the material facts and did not require an independent medical opinion to commence the action.

The plaintiffs brought a motion to expedite the hearing of the defendant's appeal from an order certifying the action as a class proceeding.

The defendant opposed the motion, arguing that the appeal involved complex issues and that the proposed timeline was too short.

The court found that there were good grounds to expedite the appeal to prevent delay in the ongoing action and to address the vulnerability of the plaintiff franchisees.

The motion was granted, and the appeal was scheduled for the first available two-day period.

The defendant franchisor moved for leave to appeal an order certifying a class proceeding brought by franchisees regarding the withholding of rebates.

The defendant argued that the proposed representative plaintiffs had a conflict of interest with other class members who had different economic arrangements with the franchisor and feared disruption of their businesses.

The court granted leave to appeal, finding that the issue of whether the representative plaintiffs could fairly and adequately represent the class without conflict was open to serious debate and of general importance to the development of class action law.