Justine Lindner

The Court of Appeal for Ontario issued a costs endorsement following an appeal.

Costs of the appeal were awarded to the self-represented appellant and fixed in the amount of $3,500, inclusive of disbursements and HST.

The self-represented appellant appealed the dismissal of his action and his motion for summary judgment against his former employer.

The motion judge had called on the appellant first, advised him to focus on the cross-motion, and then reserved her decision without calling on the respondent to make submissions.

The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, finding a want of procedural fairness.

The appellant was entitled to hear the respondent's oral submissions on the cross-motion and have an opportunity to respond to them.

The order was set aside without prejudice to either party renewing their motion.

The plaintiff, a cargo handler at Pearson International Airport, sought an interlocutory injunction to restrain picketing by the defendant union, which was engaged in a legal strike against a neighbouring employer.

The plaintiff was not a party to the labour dispute but its operations were disrupted.

The court found that the plaintiff met the test for an interlocutory injunction, relying on issue estoppel from a previous injunction granted to the airport authority.

However, the court declined to grant the broader injunction sought by the plaintiff, instead limiting the order to the terms of the existing picketing protocol established in the previous order.