Kayla Rae Theeuwen

The decision addresses motions by First Trust Management AG, as Trustee of The Salus Rete Trust, to stay or dismiss two related actions on the basis that Ontario lacks jurisdiction or is not a convenient forum.

The court finds that the claims are adequately pleaded, that Ontario has jurisdiction simpliciter based on several presumptive connecting factors (including contracts made in Ontario and torts committed in Ontario), and that Ontario is the most appropriate and convenient forum for the actions.

The motions are dismissed.

The defendant trustee of a Liechtenstein trust moved to stay or dismiss two related Ontario actions alleging fraud and misappropriation of funds, arguing that Ontario lacked jurisdiction or was an inconvenient forum.

The plaintiffs resisted the motions, asserting that the funds used to settle the trust originated from Ontario and were transferred in breach of fiduciary duties.

The court found that Ontario had jurisdiction simpliciter because contracts connected to the dispute were executed in Ontario and the underlying torts of misappropriation occurred within the province.

The court also declined to stay the actions on the basis of forum non conveniens, concluding that Ontario was the most appropriate and efficient forum to resolve the claims.

This appeal arose from a residential real estate development joint venture that ended in dispute over profit overpayments and retained proceeds.

The trial judge found oppression, ordered an accounting, and made findings on set-off, piercing the corporate veil, pre-judgment interest, and costs.

The Court of Appeal found errors in the trial judge's premature dismissal of set-off claims, the personal liability findings against individuals (Rekha and Meena Sharma) by improperly piercing the corporate veil of non-parties or for insufficient reasons, and the finding of an ad hoc fiduciary duty.

The Court also determined that the immediate payment orders for net sale proceeds, the pre-judgment interest rate, and the costs award were premature given the outstanding accounting.

The appeal was allowed, setting aside parts of the trial judgment and the entire interest and costs judgment, and directing the Associate Judge conducting the accounting to determine interest and costs after the accounting is completed.

The plaintiffs brought a motion to declare three judgment debtors as vexatious litigants and to prohibit them from bringing further motions without leave, or alternatively, to require them to post security for costs.

The motion was prompted by the judgment debtors' attempt to set aside a 2014 trial judgment based on allegedly new evidence.

The court found that two of the judgment debtors had a history of abusive litigation conduct, including re-litigating decided issues and failing to pay costs awards.

The court declared those two debtors vexatious litigants and ordered all three to post security for costs before pursuing any further motions to set aside the judgment.

The moving party, respondent on the appeal, brought a motion for security for costs under Rule 61.06 of the Rules of Civil Procedure.

The court found that the appeal was frivolous and vexatious, the appellant had insufficient assets in Ontario, and there was a history of abusing the court process and failing to pay outstanding judgments.

The motion was granted, and the appellant was ordered to post security for costs of $43,584.21, failing which the appeal would be dismissed.

The applicants were wholly successful in an application regarding the control of a non-profit organization.

They sought their costs on a partial indemnity basis.

The court noted the respondents' unjustified delays, failure to respond to settlement offers, and improper conduct in locking the applicants out of corporate accounts.

The court rejected the respondent's argument of inability to pay and awarded the applicants costs fixed at $45,000 all-inclusive.

This decision addresses interest and costs following a trial concerning a defunct joint venture.

The plaintiffs were largely successful at trial, establishing misappropriation of funds by the defendants and lifting the corporate veil.

The court awarded pre-judgment interest at 8% (non-compounded) from January 1, 2012, to November 2, 2021, with an exclusion period for plaintiff's delay.

Post-judgment interest was set at the Courts of Justice Act rates.

The court awarded substantial indemnity costs to the plaintiffs, reduced from the claimed amount due to some divided success and costs incurred by defendants from mid-trial document production.

The court found the defendants' conduct, including meritless allegations of dishonesty and introducing new unpleaded theories at trial, justified the substantial indemnity costs.

The applicants, co-founders of a not-for-profit organization, sought declarations and orders against the primary respondent and others for corporate governance breaches and misappropriation of corporate property.

The primary respondent unilaterally declared herself president, installed a new board, and locked the applicants out of corporate accounts, claiming the organization and its assets were part of her PhD study.

The court found the respondent breached corporate legislation, improperly removed directors, and misappropriated corporate property.

The court ordered the return of all corporate property and accounts to the organization and permanently enjoined the primary respondent from holding herself out as president, director, or member, or from using the organization for funding applications or making website changes.

The appellants, Eugene Bokserman and Elena Krasnov, appealed a summary judgment that found a fraudulent conveyance of their jointly held home and awarded costs.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, upholding the motion judge's findings that the conveyance was fraudulent, the refusal to admit fresh evidence, the determination that the action was not statute-barred, and the substantial indemnity costs award.

The court affirmed the motion judge's ability to assess credibility and weigh evidence in a summary judgment context and found no error in the application of the Fraudulent Conveyances Act or the Limitations Act.

The plaintiffs and the deceased Madan Sharma were involved in a joint venture to build and sell residential homes.

Following Sharma's death, disputes arose over the winding up of the joint venture, with both sides alleging overpayment of management fees and misappropriation of funds.

The court found that the defendants misappropriated $1,586,584.83 from the sale of a joint venture property by directing the proceeds to a non-joint venture corporation, and pierced the corporate veil to hold the individual defendants personally liable.

The court dismissed the defendants' counterclaim for misappropriation but found that the plaintiff's post-2008 record keeping was sufficiently unreliable to constitute oppression, ordering a formal accounting to determine the final state of accounts.

Following a successful motion for summary judgment in a fraudulent conveyance action, the plaintiff sought costs on a substantial indemnity scale against the defendants and the intervenor.

The court noted the defendants' delay tactics, unfounded allegations of fraud, and lack of credibility.

The court awarded the plaintiff costs of $175,000 against the defendants and $30,000 against the intervenor, finding the amounts reasonable given the complexity introduced by the defendants' failed defenses.

The plaintiff brought a motion for summary judgment to declare the transfer of a property from the judgment debtor to his spouse as a fraudulent conveyance.

The transfer occurred shortly after a draft judgment of $1.5 million (U.S.) was released against the debtor.

The defendants argued the plaintiff lacked standing, the action was statute-barred, and counterclaimed for slander of title.

The court found the transfer was a fraudulent conveyance intended to defeat creditors, dismissed the defendants' motion to adduce new evidence, dismissed the counterclaim, and granted summary judgment in favour of the plaintiff, including a tracing order to a subsequently purchased property.

The plaintiff vendor brought a motion for summary judgment against the defendant purchaser for failing to close a real estate transaction.

The defendant argued that the plaintiff misrepresented the zoning of the property and breached the agreement by refusing to grant further extensions.

The court found no genuine issue requiring a trial, noting the clear 'entire agreement' and 'as is' clauses in the Agreement of Purchase and Sale, and the defendant's own failure to properly investigate the zoning.

The court awarded the plaintiff damages for the loss of bargain and carrying costs, finding she had reasonably mitigated her damages by reselling the property.

The plaintiffs, as judgment creditors, previously obtained a civil contempt order against the defendant judgment debtor for concealing income and moving assets to defeat his creditors.

The penalty phase was adjourned to allow the defendant to purge his contempt by paying $112,623.

The defendant paid the amount in full, albeit past the deadline.

The court determined the appropriate sentence for the contempt, weighing mitigating factors (purging the contempt, no prior record, apology) against aggravating factors (intentional and long-running misconduct).

The court ordered the defendant to complete 75 hours of volunteer community service over six months.