Kathryn N.M. van Rensburg

The appellant appealed his convictions for sexual assault, sexual interference, and invitation to sexual touching involving his former common-law stepson, as well as assault and breach of recognizance.

The appellant argued that the trial judge erred in assessing the credibility and reliability of the complainant's evidence, specifically regarding inconsistencies, motive to fabricate, collusion, and implausibility.

The Court of Appeal found no error in the trial judge's credibility assessment or application of the burden of proof, concluding that the trial judge adequately addressed the defence's arguments and properly applied the W.(D.) framework.

The appeal was dismissed.

The appellant appealed a motion judge's decision to change a final custody order that had granted him sole custody of his two sons and required them to attend a reunification program.

The younger son had repeatedly run away and refused to live with the appellant or attend the program.

The Court of Appeal upheld the motion judge's finding that the son's extreme resistance constituted a material change in circumstances and that it was no longer in his best interests to enforce the custody order.

The court also dismissed the son's cross-appeal seeking a declaration that he had withdrawn from parental control, finding the motion judge's order that no person had custody or access rights over him was sufficient.

The appellants appealed a trial judgment that dismissed their claims as statute-barred and granted the respondents' counterclaim for the amount outstanding under a mortgage.

The self-represented appellant requested an adjournment to obtain counsel, which the Court of Appeal refused due to a history of delay.

The Court found no reviewable error of law or palpable and overriding error of fact in the trial judge's preference for the respondents' evidence or the calculation of the mortgage debt based on an expert report.

The appeal was dismissed with costs fixed at $5,000.

The appellant appealed a disposition of the Ontario Review Board ordering her detention in a hospital.

The appellant argued the Board's finding that she posed a significant threat to public safety was unreasonable and that her risk could be managed in the community.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, noting the appellant's history of violence, mental illness, substance abuse, and noncompliance with medication and court orders.

The Court relied on expert evidence that the appellant continued to suffer from a significant mental illness and lacked community support, justifying the detention order.

The appellant appealed a judgment declaring valid a continuing power of attorney for property executed by his father in favour of the respondent, and the dismissal of a motion to consolidate the respondent's application with pending proceedings.

The Court of Appeal found that the application judge erred by treating the respondent's application as separate from the pending proceedings, which involved the same parties and raised identical issues of undue influence and suspicious circumstances.

The appeal was allowed, the application judge's decision was set aside, and the application was converted to an action and consolidated with the pending proceedings.

The appellant appealed his conviction and sentence for possession of child pornography.

He argued that his inculpatory statement to the police was involuntary due to an unrecorded period at the station and his utterances regarding bail.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the conviction appeal, finding no error in the trial judge's conclusion that the statement was voluntary and not induced by police promises.

The sentence appeal was also dismissed, as the trial judge had appropriately considered the appellant's strict pre-trial bail conditions as a mitigating factor.

The appellant, a bank employee, pleaded guilty to fraud over $5,000 after disclosing clients' personal financial information to fraudsters, causing significant losses.

He appealed his sentence of two years less a day and a DNA order, seeking a conditional sentence or a reduction to 18 months.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding the sentencing judge properly weighed mitigating factors, gave sufficient reasons, and appropriately prioritized general deterrence and denunciation for a large-scale fraud involving breach of trust.

The appellant was convicted of sexual assault after engaging in sexual intercourse with the sleeping complainant.

He appealed his conviction and sentence, arguing the trial judge erred in her credibility analysis, misapplied the W.(D.) framework, and misinterpreted forensic evidence.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding the trial judge's credibility analysis was reasonable, she properly applied W.(D.) without shifting the burden of proof, and the forensic evidence was neutral.

The 30-month sentence was upheld as fit.

The appellant appealed his conviction for sexual offences, arguing that the trial judge's questioning of him at the end of his evidence rendered the trial unfair and that the trial judge erred in assessing a witness's credibility.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding that the trial judge's questions were primarily for amplification and did not impair the fairness of the trial.

The Court also deferred to the trial judge's credibility findings regarding the witness, concluding they were fully supported by the record.

The appellant appealed his convictions for multiple firearms offences, including weapons trafficking.

The Court of Appeal held that agreeing to purchase a firearm does not constitute a 'transfer' under s. 99 of the Criminal Code, quashing that conviction.

The Court also applied the Kienapple principle to stay three of the remaining five convictions, finding they arose from the same transaction and constituted a single criminal wrong.

The appellant's total sentence was reduced by three years.

The appellant appealed his conviction for a drug offence, arguing the trial judge misapprehended evidence and made inconsistent findings of fact regarding his head injury when assessing his credibility.

The central issue at trial was whether the appellant knew a package he received contained cocaine.

The Court of Appeal found no material misapprehension of evidence and no inconsistency between the trial judge's reasons for judgment and reasons for sentence.

The appeal was dismissed.

The appellant, a commercial truck driver, appealed his conviction for criminal negligence causing death and his sentence of five years' imprisonment and a fifteen-year driving prohibition.

The appellant had fallen asleep at the wheel, drifted into oncoming traffic, and caused a fatal head-on collision after falsifying his driving logs to avoid rest obligations.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the conviction appeal, finding the trial judge properly instructed the jury on the elements of the offence and the distinction from dangerous driving causing death.

The sentence appeal was also dismissed, as the sentence was not demonstrably unfit given the appellant's deliberate disregard for safety rules and the need for specific deterrence.

The appellant tenant commenced an application for a declaration of a valid lease after the respondent landlord terminated the tenancy and took possession of the premises.

Three years later, the appellant moved to direct a trial of the issues and amend its pleadings to claim damages for wrongful termination and loss of inventory.

The motion judge dismissed the motion, finding the proposed amendments raised new causes of action that were statute-barred.

The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, holding that the proposed damages claim was an alternative remedy arising from the same factual nexus originally pleaded in the application and supporting affidavit, and therefore did not constitute a new cause of action.

The appellant was convicted of possession of heroin for the purpose of trafficking and sentenced to four years' imprisonment.

He appealed the conviction, arguing his arrest was unlawful, evidence should have been excluded under s. 24(2) of the Charter, and the trial judge misapprehended evidence.

He also appealed the sentence.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the conviction appeal, finding the trial judge did not err in concluding there were objective grounds for the arrest based on the totality of circumstances, including a confidential informant tip and police surveillance.

The court also upheld the trial judge's s. 24(2) analysis and found no error in the assessment of evidence.

The sentence appeal was dismissed as the four-year term was fit and within the appropriate range.

The appellant was convicted of importing and possession for the purpose of trafficking 175 kilograms of cocaine and sentenced to 14 years' imprisonment.

He appealed the sentence, arguing the sentencing judge placed undue emphasis on denunciation and deterrence and insufficient weight on his rehabilitation and first-time offender status.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding the sentencing judge properly weighed all relevant factors, including the appellant's age and positive pre-sentence report, and that the sentence was not demonstrably unfit given the large quantity of cocaine involved.

The appellant appealed an order staying an action against a court-appointed receiver and refusing leave to sue the receiver.

The appellant argued that the receiver had already consented to the action and that the motion judge erred in finding the test for leave was not met.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding that the prior consent did not encompass the new claim for conversion arising from a subsequent agreement of purchase and sale.

The Court also found no error in the motion judge's discretionary refusal to grant leave, as there was no evidence that the appellant suffered damages.

The appellant appealed a motion judge's order transferring his damages claim to the Small Claims Court and striking his claim for declaratory relief regarding professional misconduct.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding no error in the transfer as the damages claimed were within the Small Claims Court's jurisdiction.

The Court also upheld the striking of the declaratory relief claim, noting that allegations of professional misconduct are properly matters for the Law Society.

The appellants appealed the dismissal of their solicitor negligence action, arguing the trial judge failed to consider the solicitor's duty to warn about the consequences of signing a mortgage discharge.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, noting that at trial, the appellants claimed they never met the solicitor, and their counsel conceded the action would fail if the trial judge found they had indeed signed the documents.

Because the trial judge accepted the solicitor's evidence that the meeting occurred, the duty to warn was not a live issue.

The respondents brought a motion to quash an appeal from a trial judge's order declaring a mistrial and discharging the jury.

The appellant argued the order was final because it went to the jurisdiction of the court.

The Court of Appeal held that the trial court did not lose jurisdiction but expressly retained it, making the mistrial declaration an interlocutory order.

The motion to quash the appeal was granted.

The appellant appealed an order striking his claim against the lawyers who represented his former spouse in family law proceedings.

The appellant alleged the lawyers caused delays, distress, and hardship, and misled the court.

The motion judge struck the claim, finding no duty of care owed by the lawyers to the opposing party and concluding the action was an abuse of process and a collateral attack on previous family court and Law Society decisions.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding no error in the motion judge's conclusions that the statement of claim disclosed no reasonable cause of action and constituted an abuse of process.