J.R. Turnbull

During a civil jury trial for damages arising from a motor vehicle accident, the plaintiff closed his case without entering his income tax returns into evidence.

The plaintiff brought a motion to re-open his case to introduce the returns to support a claim for loss of competitive work capacity.

The court found the omission was due to counsel's inadvertence, not tactical advantage, and that the defendant would not be irreparably prejudiced as the documents had been previously produced.

The motion was granted, allowing the plaintiff to be recalled solely to identify the tax returns.

The applicant brought a motion to enforce a settlement agreement allegedly reached through correspondence between counsel following his termination and a shareholder dispute.

The respondents had offered a settlement that included the return of a specific iPad.

The applicant accepted most terms but stated he did not have the iPad.

The court found that the applicant's response did not constitute an absolute and unqualified acceptance of all essential terms of the offer.

Because the acceptance was not a mirror image of the offer, no binding settlement agreement was formed.

The application was dismissed, with each party bearing their own costs.

The applicant brought a motion for a Certificate of Pending Litigation regarding a rural property formerly owned by his parents.

The applicant alleged that the property was transferred to the respondent's corporation to be held in trust for the applicant, who purchased it at half its market value from his parents but could not obtain financing.

The respondent claimed the property was purchased outright with an expectation the applicant would buy it back later.

The court found a triable issue regarding the applicant's beneficial interest and held that damages would be inadequate given the property's long history in the applicant's family.

The motion for a Certificate of Pending Litigation was granted on terms.