P. Cavanagh

The accused was charged with impaired operation of a vessel causing death and operating a vessel with a blood alcohol concentration over 80mg causing death, following a tragic boating accident where a water skier was struck and killed by the boat's propeller.

The central issue at trial was the identity of the driver of the boat at the time of the collision.

While the accused made statements shortly after the accident suggesting she was the driver, the court found these statements unreliable due to her hysterical state.

The only eyewitness who testified the accused was driving had significant inconsistencies in his evidence.

Applying the W.(D.) test, the court concluded the Crown failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused was operating the vessel, resulting in an acquittal on all charges.

The plaintiff real estate agent sued the defendant for a commission under a listing agreement after introducing a purchaser.

The defendant cancelled the property sale and instead structured the transaction as a sale of shares by its parent company to the purchaser.

The plaintiff moved to amend its claim to add the parent company, plead an indirect sale and breach of good faith, and add an oppression claim under the Business Corporations Act.

The defendant moved to strike the claim for disclosing no reasonable cause of action.

The court granted the plaintiff's motion to amend and dismissed the defendant's motion to strike, finding that the proposed claims were tenable at law and not plain and obvious to fail.