Jonathon C. George

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 concerning the interpretation of a will provision granting an option to purchase a townhouse.

The court upheld the application judge’s finding that the option was properly exercised within the required time and that the will’s terms were sufficiently certain.

The court also rejected arguments regarding the necessity of a separate agreement of purchase and sale and the relevance of the parties’ subsequent conduct.

Costs were awarded as agreed.

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.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario dismissed the appeal in this commercial landlord-tenant dispute.

The trial judge found that the tenant, 2682543 Ontario Inc., repudiated the lease for restaurant premises and that the landlord, 720443 Ontario Inc., properly accepted the repudiation and terminated the lease.

The tenant and its guarantor, Shahab Rashid Savojbolaghi, were held liable for damages.

The Court rejected the tenant’s arguments regarding joint occupancy and the timing of possession, upholding the trial judge’s interpretation of the lease and the finding of repudiation.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario dismissed an appeal by non-settling defendants challenging the approval of a Pierringer agreement in a multi-party motor vehicle accident case.

The court held that the agreement did not cause substantive prejudice to the non-settling defendants, as the Negligence Act places the risk of an insolvent or impecunious tortfeasor on the remaining tortfeasors, not the victim.

The court also declined to grant procedural orders in advance, leaving such matters to the trial judge.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario dismissed N.S.'s appeal from convictions for sexual assault and sexual interference.

The appellant argued that the trial judge failed to consider his mixed out-of-court statements and erred in finding that Crown witnesses corroborated each other.

The Court found no reversible error, holding that the trial judge properly assessed the evidence and did not misuse the concept of corroboration.

The decision clarifies the use of mixed out-of-court statements and the proper approach to corroborative evidence in sexual offence trials.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario allowed in part the appeal of Westmount-Keele Limited in a solicitor’s negligence action against Nicholas C. Tibollo and his professional corporation.

The court found that the trial judge erred in declining to award damages for certain legal fees and elevator repairs, and varied the judgment to include these amounts.

The court otherwise upheld the trial judge’s findings regarding lost opportunity damages, property taxes, and other claims, finding no palpable and overriding error.

The appeal was allowed in part, and costs were awarded to the appellant.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario allowed the Crown's appeal from sentence, finding that the sentencing judge erred by imposing a two-year weapons prohibition under s. 51(3) of the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) following a youth's guilty plea to first-degree murder.

The Court held that the correct provision was s. 51(1), which requires a longer prohibition for offences subject to mandatory orders under s. 109 of the Criminal Code.

Both parties agreed to set aside the two-year prohibition and impose a 12-year weapons prohibition.

The Court substituted the appropriate order, noting the respondent's planning and aggravating circumstances.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario dismissed the appeals of both the Attorney General of Canada and Katherine Cannon from a trial judgment finding them liable for abuse and loss of Indigenous culture suffered by the respondents, three sisters.

The court held that Canada owed an ad hoc fiduciary duty to the respondents as de facto wards in a unique interprovincial context, and that Canada breached this duty by shelving a plan to return the children to their Indigenous maternal family.

The court also upheld findings of negligence and joint and several liability for damages.

The court clarified the limits of sui generis fiduciary duty, the requirements for ad hoc fiduciary duty, and the application of proximity and foreseeability in negligence.

Michael Katz appealed the two-year sentence imposed after pleading guilty to several offences, including possession of a loaded firearm, assaulting a police officer with a weapon, impaired operation of a motor vehicle, and failing to remain at the scene of an accident.

The Court of Appeal granted leave to appeal but dismissed the appeal, finding no error in the sentencing judge’s approach or conclusions.

The court also substituted a three-year driving prohibition, to commence from the date of sentencing, in place of the original 18-month prohibition, in accordance with the Criminal Code and relevant case law.

The appellant, Randall Thring, appealed the imposition of a 20-year SOIRA order following his guilty plea to communicating for the purpose of obtaining sexual services from a person under 18.

The Court of Appeal found that the trial judge erred in treating the SOIRA order as mandatory, but held that the order was still appropriate in the circumstances.

The appeal was dismissed, and the request for anonymization of the appellant's name was also denied.

The appellant, Shawn Frederick Prindle, appealed his sentence for multiple convictions including assault, assault with a weapon, theft, mischief to property, and breach of recognizance.

He argued that the sentencing judge erred by not granting credit for time spent under strict bail conditions (Downes credit) and by rejecting a conditional sentence.

The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal in part, reducing the global sentence to 365 days’ imprisonment (with 21 days presentence custody deducted), but declined to substitute a conditional sentence, finding a custodial sentence was still required given the gravity and context of the offences.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario dismissed the appeal of Robert and Catherine Hurst, who challenged their removal as estate trustees of the Estate of Ruth Eileen Stevens MacBeth.

The court upheld the motion judge’s discretionary decisions to deny an adjournment, remove the Hursts as trustees, and order a $50,000 holdback from the estate.

The court found no error in the motion judge’s application of the legal tests and awarded costs against the appellants personally, concluding the appeal was unnecessary and not in the interests of the estate.

G.E.S. Construction Limited appealed the dismissal of its motion seeking a declaration that Lloyd’s Underwriters had a duty to defend and indemnify it under a 2015 insurance policy.

The Court of Appeal upheld the motion judge’s decision, finding no waiver or estoppel by Lloyd’s and no bad faith in its conduct.

The appeal was dismissed and costs were awarded to the respondent.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario dismissed Aliamisse O. Mundulai’s motion for a panel review of a decision denying his request for an extension of time to seek leave to appeal from a Divisional Court decision.

The Divisional Court had dismissed his application for judicial review of a Law Society Tribunal Appeal Division decision denying his readmission to the Ontario Bar.

The Court of Appeal found no error in the motion judge’s decision, noting the lack of merit in the proposed appeal and emphasizing that leave to appeal was required.

The application was dismissed and costs of $2,000 were awarded to the respondent.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario dismissed the appeal from a judgment enforcing a settlement agreement in the context of a pending arbitration.

The appellants failed to pay the agreed amount by the deadline, triggering a penalty clause.

The court found no error in the application judge’s decision to proceed by application rather than action, in the finding that the respondents had not breached their obligations of good faith, or in the enforcement of the penalty clause.

The appeal was dismissed and costs awarded to the respondents.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario granted the Crown’s application to revoke the respondent’s bail pending retrial on historical sexual offences.

The court found that the motion judge erred in law by concluding that the release order was a nullity due to a typographical error referencing the wrong provision of the Criminal Code.

The error was deemed minor and not prejudicial.

The respondent’s breach of a condition prohibiting contact with children under 16 was established, and the release order was revoked.