Norman Joseph Emblem

The defendants moved for summary judgment to dismiss the plaintiffs' action as statute-barred under the Limitations Act, 2002, arguing that the plaintiffs' former lawyer had sufficient knowledge of the potential claim more than two years before the action was commenced.

The plaintiffs contended that the information available to their lawyer was insufficient to trigger the limitation period, requiring further expert investigation.

The court dismissed the defendants' motion, finding that the information known to the plaintiffs' lawyer was merely a suspicion and not enough to establish a plausible inference of liability, especially given the complex technical nature of the tax issue and conflicting professional opinions.

The limitation period was held to have commenced either when further due diligence was decided upon (February 22, 2016) or when a comprehensive expert opinion was provided (February 24, 2017), both dates being within the two-year period.

This is an appeal from a judgment granting partial summary judgment and dismissing a counterclaim.

The appellants argued the motion judge erred in hearing the partial summary judgment motion, in granting the judgment, in awarding duplicative compensation, and in appreciating fraudulent concealment.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding no palpable or overriding errors in the motion judge's decision to hear the partial summary judgment, her findings of fact, or her awards of punitive damages and full indemnity costs, which were distinct from the denial of a success fee.

The claim regarding fraudulent concealment was also dismissed for lack of specificity.

This is a costs decision following the permanent stay of the plaintiffs' main action and third-party proceedings.

The defendants, Paul Gribilas and Peter Gribilas, and the third party, J+W Foods Inc., sought costs as successful parties on dispositive motions.

The plaintiffs argued against costs, claiming a miscarriage of justice given the prior ruling that there were genuine issues for trial.

The court found no miscarriage of justice and applied the normal rule that costs follow the outcome, awarding partial indemnity costs to the Gribilas defendants and full indemnity costs to J+W Foods Inc. based on a contractual provision in a release.