The estates of a prominent couple who were found dead in unexplained circumstances sought sealing orders over probate files to protect the privacy and physical safety of beneficiaries and trustees.
The application judge granted the sealing orders, finding the privacy and safety interests outweighed the open court principle, but the Court of Appeal unanimously set them aside.
The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, holding that the appellants failed to establish a serious risk to an important public interest.
The Court clarified that privacy can constitute an important public interest for purposes of the Sierra Club test only insofar as it protects dignity — that is, information so sensitive it strikes at the biographical core of an individual — and found the probate file contents did not meet that standard.
The Court also held that the alleged risk of physical harm to beneficiaries and trustees was speculative rather than a proper inference from the record.
