Richard Rohmer

The appellant appealed a trial decision regarding a property dispute over waterfront access.

At the outset of the trial, the trial judge disclosed that his wife was a real estate agent specializing in waterfront properties in the area and had clients connected to the dispute, but he declined the appellant's request to recuse himself.

The Court of Appeal found that the trial judge's wife's deep and multi-layered connections to the properties and witnesses created a reasonable apprehension of bias.

The appeal was allowed and a new trial was ordered.

The appellant, a non-settling defendant in a class action arising from an aviation accident, appealed an order approving partial settlements.

The appellant argued that the settlement's bar orders, which prohibited further discovery of the settling defendants, would prejudice its defence and prevent the trial court from properly allocating fault.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding that the bar orders did not prevent the appellant from raising its liability arguments at trial.

The Court also upheld the motion judge's finding that the benefits of the settlement to the class outweighed any remote prejudice to the appellant's procedural rights.