Rodney Godard

The plaintiffs brought a motion for a status hearing and timetable, while the defendants brought a cross-motion to dismiss the 2013 action for delay.

The plaintiffs' former counsel, who were suspended by the Law Society, caused significant delay and misled the plaintiffs.

The court found the plaintiffs had an acceptable explanation for the delay.

However, the court found the defendants would suffer non-compensable prejudice because the plaintiffs' former counsel lost the majority of the relevant documents, making complete documentary disclosure impossible.

The action was dismissed for delay.

Following the dismissal of the moving parties' motion for a Mareva injunction, the respondents sought their costs.

The court awarded substantial and full indemnity costs to the respondents, totaling over $126,000, finding that the moving parties had made serious, unfounded allegations of fraud and breach of trust, and had engaged in inappropriate conduct by raising unrelated regulatory issues to smear certain respondents.

Following an appeal, the appellant sought trial costs based on an offer to settle.

The respondent argued that determining trial costs was premature because her application for support under the Succession Law Reform Act had been remitted to the Superior Court.

The Court of Appeal agreed and remitted the question of all Superior Court costs to the judge hearing the support application.

Following the release of the Court of Appeal's decision allowing the appeal and awarding the statutory pre-retirement death benefit to the appellant, the respondent requested that the court address her entitlement to support under the Succession Law Reform Act (SLRA).

The trial judge had previously dismissed the respondent's SLRA application because she had awarded the death benefit to the respondent, finding no further need for support.

Because the Court of Appeal's decision removed the basis for that dismissal, the court set aside the trial judge's order dismissing the SLRA application and remitted the matter to the Superior Court of Justice for determination.

The deceased was a member of a pension plan who died before the commencement of his deferred pension.

At the time of his death, he was living with a common law spouse but remained legally married to his separated spouse, whom he had designated as a beneficiary along with their daughters.

The Court of Appeal held that because the deceased and his legally married spouse were living separate and apart, the spousal priority under s. 48(1) of the Pension Benefits Act did not apply.

Consequently, the designated beneficiaries were entitled to the death benefit under s. 48(6).

The petitioning creditor obtained a judgment against the debtor on a promissory note and subsequently filed a petition for a receiving order based on this single debt.

The bankruptcy judge granted the petition, finding that the unpaid judgment automatically constituted special circumstances under s. 42(1)(j) of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act.

On appeal, the Court of Appeal held that while a judgment constitutes a continuing demand, a single judgment debt does not automatically establish an act of bankruptcy.

The court must consider all circumstances, including the size of the judgment, how long it has been outstanding, and collection efforts.

The appeal was allowed, the receiving order set aside, and the matter remitted to the bankruptcy judge.