K. Podrebarac

The appellant appealed a case management judge's order permitting the foreign corporate respondent to redact irrelevant personal data from its documentary productions to comply with European and German privacy laws (GDPR and BDSG).

The Divisional Court upheld the redaction protocol, finding the motion judge had jurisdiction to craft a procedural compromise that balanced Ontario discovery obligations with international comity and foreign privacy laws.

However, the court granted the appeal solely to remove an unwarranted requirement that the respondent obtain leave before filing its affidavit of documents.

The appellants brought an appeal of an order by Master Haberman to the Divisional Court.

The court determined that the Master's order was interlocutory and, pursuant to section 17(a) of the Courts of Justice Act, the appeal properly lies to the Superior Court of Justice, not the Divisional Court.

Costs for the appearance were fixed at $3,000, payable by the ultimate losing party on the appeal.