Justin W. Anisman

The moving non-party, Mohsen, brought a motion within a family law proceeding for the release of funds held in trust from the sale of a property he jointly owned with the respondent husband.

The applicant wife and respondent mother-in-law opposed the release, seeking preservation of the funds.

The court found that issue estoppel applied, as a prior order had already determined Mohsen was entitled to his share of the proceeds.

The court further held that Mohsen was not bound by a prior oral agreement to sell his share for a fixed amount, as that agreement had been repudiated, and that he was not liable for a second mortgage on the property.

The court ordered $144,185.13 to be released to Mohsen.

The plaintiffs brought a motion for production orders and examination of the defendants in aid of an existing Mareva injunction and Anton Piller order.

The only contentious issue was a request to order a non-party exchange to provide information regarding the defendants' assets.

The court granted the order, finding it necessary in aid of execution of the Mareva injunction, and rejected the defendants' argument that the request was an improper attempt to gather evidence for a contempt motion.

The plaintiff sought a two-year custodial sentence for the defendant, who was previously found liable for multiple acts of civil contempt, including transferring assets to put them beyond the court's jurisdiction and failing to disclose assets.

The defendant, who was already serving a 12-month sentence for prior contempt, requested a conditional sentence.

The court found the defendant's conduct to be a flagrant and repeated defiance of court orders, warranting a strong signal of deterrence and denunciation.

The defendant was sentenced to 16 months in jail without the possibility of parole, with conditions allowing for early release if the contempt is purged.

The applicant brought motions to convert a condominium application and counter-application into an action, consolidate them with an ongoing defamation action, permit the use of discovery evidence across proceedings, and strike a defamation pleading in the counter-application.

The court found the matters were deeply interwoven, involving the same factual matrix regarding the applicant's conduct and social media posts about the condominium board.

To avoid inconsistent findings and multiplicity of proceedings, the court ordered the conversion and consolidation.

The court also granted leave to use discovery evidence and struck the defamation pleading with leave to amend for failing to provide adequate particulars.

The plaintiff employer sued two former salespeople and their new employer for breach of fiduciary duty and breach of confidence after the employees resigned and began soliciting the plaintiff's customers.

The defendants brought a motion for summary judgment to dismiss the action.

The court found that the former employees were ordinary salespeople with no managerial power or discretion, and therefore were not fiduciary employees.

The court also found no evidence that the employees misappropriated or misused any confidential information.

The motion for summary judgment was granted and the action was dismissed.

The plaintiff law firm sued its former client for unpaid legal fees.

Shortly after being served, the client granted a mortgage on her property to her former brother-in-law.

The plaintiff sought leave to issue a certificate of pending litigation (CPL) alleging a fraudulent conveyance.

The Master denied the CPL, finding insufficient evidence of fraudulent intent.

On appeal, the Superior Court found the Master erred in law by applying a higher standard of proof to the second part of the test for a CPL and usurping the function of a trial judge.

The appeal was allowed and the CPL was granted.