Owen Rees

The appellant, a former executive and minority shareholder, sued the respondents in Ontario for wrongful dismissal, unpaid wages, and oppression.

The motions judge denied the appellant's motion for partial summary judgment and granted the respondents' motion to stay the action based on an exclusive forum selection clause in a Shareholders' Agreement favouring England.

On appeal, the Court of Appeal upheld the denial of summary judgment but set aside the stay.

The Court found that the motions judge erred by ignoring a non-exclusive Ontario forum selection clause in the appellant's Service Agreement and by failing to consider that the respondents had attorned to Ontario's jurisdiction by defending the action on the merits and counterclaiming before invoking the English forum selection clause.

The appellant transferred property to her brother in 1990 and later brought an action claiming its return.

The trial judge rejected her claim of a resulting trust.

On appeal, the appellant abandoned the resulting trust claim and instead argued the existence of an intervening oral agreement reduced to writing in 2002.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding no evidence to support the new argument and holding that it could not be raised for the first time on appeal.

The appellants appealed a jury award of over $1.6 million in damages arising from a motor vehicle accident.

They argued the trial judge improperly interfered with cross-examination, erred in admitting a medical report during a life-care planner's testimony, and that the damages awarded were inordinately high.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal regarding the trial judge's conduct and evidentiary rulings, finding no unwarranted interference and a proper exercise of discretion.

The court upheld the general damages and housekeeping awards, but reduced the future income loss award by $140,000 on consent to account for the respondent's mandatory retirement age from the military reserve.