Jordan Goldblatt

Meta brought a motion to dismiss or permanently stay Torstar's application, arguing that the dispute should be litigated in California pursuant to forum selection clauses in their News Innovation Agreement.

The court found that the forum selection clauses in Meta's Terms of Service and Commercial Terms applied to users of Meta's products, not to partners licensing content to Meta, and were therefore unclear and inapplicable.

Furthermore, the court held that even if the clauses applied, Torstar demonstrated strong cause not to enforce them, as the dispute involved the interpretation of the federal Online News Act and implicated Canadian public policy and constitutional values regarding freedom of the press.

In a bankruptcy proceeding, creditors brought a motion to lift the stay of proceedings against the bankrupt, who was allegedly involved in a mortgage fraud scheme.

In support, they filed affidavits detailing the alleged involvement of other defendants, including the moving parties on this cross-motion.

The moving parties sought to examine the affiant, strike portions of the affidavits, and seal the record.

The court dismissed the request to examine the affiant, finding it would not benefit the administration of the estate.

However, the court struck the impugned paragraphs under Rule 25.11, as they were irrelevant to the lift stay motion.

The request for a sealing order was dismissed without prejudice due to procedural failures and reliance on outdated case law.