Jonathon C. George

The respondent moved to quash the appellant's appeal from a May 21, 2024 trial judgment in family law proceedings.

The trial judge had found the appellant engaged in coercive and controlling behaviour, psychological abuse of the child, failure to honour support obligations, and efforts to alienate the child from the respondent.

The appellant failed to comply with a stay order requiring payment of support arrears within 30 days and continued to breach court orders regarding parenting time and support payments.

The Court of Appeal found this to be one of the clearest cases justifying quashing an appeal, citing the appellant's deliberate and unwavering breach of crystal-clear orders, substantial arrears, and pattern of vexatious and frivolous litigation.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario dismissed an appeal by the Attorney General of Canada from a certification order of a class action brought by immigration detainees.

Between May 2016 and July 2023, the Canada Border Services Agency placed approximately 8,360 immigration detainees in provincial and territorial prisons instead of Immigration Holding Centers.

The respondents challenged this practice as violating sections 7, 9, 12, and 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and as constituting negligence.

The motion judge certified the class action, finding that the Charter and negligence claims disclosed reasonable causes of action and that common issues existed.

The appellate court upheld the certification, finding no palpable and overriding errors in the motion judge's analysis.

The appellant appealed a motion judge's decision requiring him to pay half of a gross negligence HST penalty pursuant to a supplementary investment agreement with the respondent.

The appellant raised new arguments on appeal that the gross negligence HST penalty did not form part of the HST assessment and arose solely from the respondent's alleged breach of fiduciary duties.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding that the appellant failed to meet the stringent test for entertaining new issues on appeal, as the evidentiary record was insufficient and no miscarriage of justice would result from refusing to entertain the new arguments.

The appellant was convicted after a jury trial of multiple criminal offences involving domestic abuse and sexual assault of his former domestic partner.

He appealed his convictions on two grounds: (1) that the jury charge on myths and stereotypes was imbalanced and insufficient, and (2) that the jury instruction on prior consistent statements was inadequate.

He also sought leave to appeal his five-year sentence for sexual assault, arguing it was excessive and based on a misapprehension of evidence regarding his conduct in other relationships.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the conviction appeal, finding the jury charge, while not perfect, was functional and equipped jurors to decide the case according to law.

The court granted leave to appeal the sentence but dismissed the sentence appeal, finding the five-year term was not demonstrably unfit given the severity of the offence and the offender's moral culpability.

The appellant appealed his convictions for possessing a firearm, carrying a concealed firearm, and carelessly storing a firearm.

The Crown's case was entirely circumstantial.

The trial judge found that the appellant had joint possession of a firearm his brother displayed during an altercation at a McDonald's, based on the appellant's position and actions.

The trial judge also found the appellant was a party to the careless storage of two firearms discovered in an alley after police pursuit.

The Court of Appeal upheld the convictions, finding the trial judge properly applied the legal principles governing circumstantial evidence and that her findings and inferences were reasonably available on the evidence.

The appellant was convicted of possessing cocaine and methamphetamine for the purpose of trafficking and possessing proceeds of crime following a police investigation that began with a confidential informant tip.

The appellant appealed on grounds that the police violated his Charter rights under sections 8, 9, and 10(b), and that evidence should be excluded under section 24(2).

The Court of Appeal upheld the convictions, finding no violation of sections 8 or 9, acknowledging a section 10(b) breach but finding the evidence admissible under section 24(2) analysis.

An appeal under Part XX.1 of the Criminal Code from an Ontario Review Board disposition order dated December 13, 2024.

The appellant sought a conditional discharge or, alternatively, authorization for 14-day travel passes to the United States.

The Board maintained a detention order requiring continued residence at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health with community housing privileges and extended Canadian travel passes to 14 days.

The Court of Appeal upheld the Board's decision, finding no error in law and that the disposition was reasonable and not a miscarriage of justice.

The appellant appealed convictions for sexual assault, sexual interference, and invitation to sexual touching entered on November 22, 2023.

The appeal challenged the trial judge's refusal to instruct the jury to disregard Crown closing submissions regarding the absence of the complainant's mother's testimony about witnessing the alleged incidents.

The appellant argued that the Crown's submission was improper because the mother had told police she witnessed an incident that was not testified to at trial.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding that the Crown properly based its submission on evidence actually led at trial and that defence counsel's failure to cross-examine the mother about her police statement was a tactical decision.

An appeal from a Superior Court decision regarding the provability of a former employee's profit-sharing claim in the bankruptcy of a real estate development company.

The trustee disallowed the claim on the grounds that it was an equity claim and too contingent and remote.

The appeal judge allowed the appeal, finding the profit-sharing claim was a claim for unliquidated damages for breach of contract, not an equity claim, and was therefore provable.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, upholding the lower court's decision and confirming that the profit-sharing claim is a provable claim that takes priority over the limited partners' equity claims.

The appellant appealed his conviction for second-degree murder, arguing that the trial judge's jury charge relating to after-the-fact conduct evidence failed to properly equip the jury to decide the case according to law and the evidence.

The Crown presented extensive evidence of the appellant's conduct in the hours following the killing, including exchanges with neighbours, apparent attempts at concealment, admissions to friends, and various activities at commercial establishments.

The trial judge failed to provide a limiting instruction restricting the jury's use of this evidence solely to the issue of intoxication and rational mindset, instead inviting the jury to consider it broadly in determining the appellant's mens rea for murder.

The trial judge also failed to address the risks of consciousness of guilt reasoning and invited the jury to infer callous disregard as evidence of intent to kill.

The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, finding three reversible errors in the jury charge.

The appellant appealed his conviction for sexual assault contrary to section 271 of the Criminal Code and his sentence.

The appellant was charged in September 2019 with sexual assault and administering a noxious substance.

The latter charge was withdrawn.

Following a hung jury in June 2022, the appellant was tried before a judge alone, who found that he sexually assaulted the complainant twice.

The appellant raised three grounds of appeal: (1) the trial judge erred in finding no breach of section 8 of the Charter regarding an overbroad search of his cell phone; (2) the trial judge erred in finding no breach of section 7 of the Charter based on non-disclosure of the information to obtain the search warrant and minimized the materiality of the hotel video in the conviction; and (3) the trial judge erred in failing to grant sufficient sentencing credit for harsh conditions in pre-sentence custody.

The Court of Appeal dismissed all grounds of appeal and upheld both the conviction and sentence.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario considered cross-appeals from both the Crown and D.L. regarding convictions and acquittals arising from allegations of intimate partner violence.

The Crown appealed acquittals on sexual assault and extortion charges and sought a harsher sentence, while D.L. appealed his convictions, arguing errors in the trial judge’s assessment of evidence and sufficiency of reasons.

The Court dismissed both appeals, upheld the trial judge’s findings, and stayed certain duplicative counts.

The decision addresses the proper approach to consent in sexual assault, the scope of appellate review, and the principles guiding sentencing for intimate partner violence.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario allowed the appeal of Varinder Singh, who had been convicted after a jury trial of obtaining sexual services for consideration.

The court found that the trial judge erred by directing a verdict of guilt on a lesser included offence, rather than leaving the verdict to the jury.

The court held that, even where the evidence is overwhelming, an accused is entitled to the jury’s verdict.

A new trial was ordered on the included offence.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario dismissed Lynne Catherine Foulidis’s motion for a panel review and to set aside the Deputy Registrar’s order dismissing her appeal for delay.

The court found that the motion judge correctly concluded the appeal lacked merit and that the criteria for an extension of time to perfect the appeal were not met.

The court reviewed the trial judge’s findings regarding the retainer agreement and legal fees, and found no palpable and overriding error.

Costs were awarded to the respondent.

The appellant, Shafaq Joya, appealed the Ontario Review Board’s decision to continue his conditional discharge and deny his Charter application for an absolute discharge.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario dismissed the appeal, finding that the Board’s assessment of risk and refusal to grant an absolute discharge were reasonable and supported by the evidence.

The court also found no Charter breach, as the Board’s decision was based on public safety, not resource limitations.

The appellant, Josiah Lowe, appealed his sentence of three years' imprisonment for three counts of robbery, possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000, and wearing a disguise with intent.

He argued that the sentencing judge misapplied the law regarding anti-Black racism, erred by prioritizing denunciation and deterrence, and erred in crediting his bail conditions.

The Court of Appeal found no error in the sentencing judge’s application of the law or principles and dismissed the appeal.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario considered the Crown’s appeal from an acquittal on a charge of sexual assault.

The Crown argued that the trial judge relied on myths and stereotypes about how a sexual assault victim should behave, particularly in finding it significant that the complainant returned to sleep in the same bed as the accused after the alleged assault.

The Court found that the trial judge did err in law by relying on such stereotypes, but held that the error did not have a material bearing on the acquittal, as the trial judge’s reasonable doubt was also based on other concerns about the complainant’s reliability and inconsistencies in her evidence.

The appeal was dismissed.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario dismissed Adan McIntosh’s appeal from the dismissal of his motion to vary a parenting order.

The court found no material change in circumstances warranting a variation, emphasizing the ongoing risk of wrongful removal of the children to Australia and Mr. McIntosh’s failure to pay support and costs.

The court also addressed the children’s preferences, the financial and emotional impact of the litigation on Ms. Kim, and the principles governing variation of parenting orders.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario dismissed Kenneth Reed's appeal from a summary judgment in favour of the Bank of Nova Scotia regarding two lines of credit for his farming operation.

The court found that summary judgment was appropriate, the Consumer Protection Act did not apply as Reed was not a consumer, and a stay under the Farm Debt Mediation Act did not apply to the appeal itself but did stay enforcement of the judgment pending mediation.

Costs of $7,500 were awarded to the Bank.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario dismissed the appeal of Kyrle Blake Farmer, who had served as estate trustee and attorney for property for his aunt, Billie Frances Farmer.

The respondents, his brothers, challenged his distributions and expenses.

The application judge found that Billie lacked capacity to provide instructions, that the appellant’s compensation and expenses were not justified, and that he failed to keep proper accounts.

The appellant was ordered to repay significant sums to the estate.

The Court of Appeal found no error in the application judge’s findings or orders and dismissed the appeal with costs.