Yavar Hameed

The moving party brought a motion to strike the respondents' action, which sought declarations that the government failed in its duty under the Genocide Convention to prevent a foreign state from committing an alleged genocide.

The respondents also alleged violations of their sections 7 and 15 Charter rights.

The court granted the motion to strike, finding that the claims were non-justiciable as they involved the exercise of Crown prerogative in foreign affairs and international relations.

The court also found no reasonable prospect of success for the Charter claims, noting a lack of causal connection for section 7 and that discretionary immigration policies do not ground a section 15 claim.

The defendant, Samantha Robinson (carrying on business as Postering Ottawa), brought an anti-SLAPP motion under section 137.1 of the Courts of Justice Act to dismiss a defamation action brought by Diffusart International and Marc Agostini.

The court found that while Robinson’s expressions related to a matter of public interest, the plaintiffs’ claim had substantial merit and Robinson did not have valid defences.

The court concluded that the harm to the plaintiffs outweighed the public interest in protecting Robinson’s expression, and dismissed the anti-SLAPP motion without costs.

The applicant sought costs against the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario after successfully bringing an application for judicial review.

The Tribunal had erroneously dismissed her human rights application for failing to comply with case assessment directions, despite her having filed the required documents.

The Tribunal consented to the judicial review but opposed the request for costs.

The Divisional Court dismissed the request for costs, finding that the Tribunal's error was made in the course of its administrative functions and that it did not assume an adversarial role in the proceedings.

No costs were awarded.

This costs endorsement addresses the quantum and entitlement to costs following the dismissal of the Plaintiff’s claim for delay.

The Defendant, John Akpata, sought costs after successfully striking the Plaintiff’s claim.

The court considered the conduct of the parties, offers to settle, the reasonableness of the costs claimed, and the Plaintiff’s ability to pay.

The court fixed costs at $19,000, finding this amount fair and reasonable in the circumstances.

The defendant brought a motion to dismiss the plaintiff's defamation action, commenced in 2015, on grounds of inordinate and inexcusable delay pursuant to Rule 24.01 of the Rules of Civil Procedure.

The plaintiff opposed, citing the COVID-19 pandemic and insufficient funds as reasons for the nine-year delay.

The court found the delay to be inordinate and inexcusable, resulting in substantial prejudice to the defendant's ability to secure witnesses and recollect events, and dismissed the action.

The plaintiff's explanations for the delay were deemed insufficient.

Mohamed Mahjoub, subject to a security certificate and deportation order, sought habeas corpus in the Superior Court to challenge the indefinite conditions of his release, arguing Charter breaches.

The Minister moved to stay the application, citing lack of jurisdiction or, alternatively, the existence of an adequate appeal route and the comprehensive nature of the IRPA security certificate scheme (Peiroo exception).

The motion judge granted the stay.

Mahjoub appealed.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, agreeing that the IRPA's security certificate review process, with its specialized Federal Court judges and special advocate system, constitutes a comprehensive and advantageous scheme for reviewing detention conditions, thus precluding habeas corpus, even though the motion judge erred regarding the adequacy of the appeal route.

The plaintiff, Margaret Godard, sought partial indemnity costs after settling her claim against Intelcom Courier Canada Inc. for $70,000, four days before trial.

The court was tasked with fixing costs, applying Rule 57 of the Rules of Civil Procedure, rather than Rule 58, as the parties had agreed to have costs fixed by a judge.

The court considered the principle of indemnity, reasonable expectations, and proportionality.

It found the plaintiff's costs claim to be reasonable overall, with a minor deduction of $497.17 for expert travel expenses that were not incurred.

The court fixed costs at $70,000, inclusive of HST and disbursements, finding this amount struck an appropriate balance given the circumstances, including Intelcom's late acceptance of the settlement offer and its conduct during litigation.

This appeal concerned an anti-SLAPP motion under s. 137.1 of the Courts of Justice Act.

The appellant, a medical resident, sued an investigation firm and its investigator for defamation based on executive summaries of a workplace harassment investigation.

The motion judge dismissed the action, finding the summaries related to a matter of public interest, were protected by qualified privilege, and lacked evidence of malice.

The Court of Appeal upheld the dismissal, confirming that the expressions related to public interest due to the nature of the educational institution, media attention, and public safety concerns, and were protected by qualified privilege.

The appellant, a dental school graduate, appealed the dismissal of his application for an injunction to compel the National Dental Examining Board of Canada to grant him a "Special Appeal" of his failed written exams.

The motion judge had struck the application, finding no reasonable cause of action as the Board's by-laws did not provide a substantive right to a "Special Appeal" for written exam failures.

The Court of Appeal upheld the motion judge's decision, agreeing that the by-laws, when read as a whole, did not establish such a right, and therefore, the application for injunctive relief failed.

The applicant, a medical resident, was suspended and required to attend a health program.

He unsuccessfully appealed the suspension through the university's internal processes before filing an application with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario alleging discrimination.

The Tribunal dismissed the application as an abuse of process, finding the applicant had unfairly split his case.

On judicial review, the Divisional Court applied the reasonableness standard of review post-Vavilov and upheld the Tribunal's decision, concluding it was not unreasonable to find that duplicative proceedings regarding the same underlying facts were unfair to the university.

The defendants, an athlete and a national sports organization, brought a motion to dismiss the plaintiff's action for damages arising from alleged harassment and assault.

The defendants argued the court lacked jurisdiction because the plaintiff had already pursued a complaint under the organization's internal disciplinary code, making the civil action an abuse of process or collateral attack.

The court dismissed the motion, finding that the internal disciplinary process did not have the authority to award compensatory damages for tortious conduct, and therefore did not oust the jurisdiction of the civil courts.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario dismissed an appeal from a motion judge's decision to dismiss an Anti-SLAAP motion.

The appellate court found no error in the motion judge's application of the relevant factors under s. 137.1 of the Courts of Justice Act, noting that her approach was consistent with the Supreme Court's framework in 1704604 Ontario Ltd. v. Pointes Protection Association, despite not having the benefit of that decision at the time.

The motion judge correctly limited her evidentiary review to the threshold requirements of the Anti-SLAAP motion, leaving deeper factual findings for later stages.

The appeal was dismissed, and costs were awarded to the respondent.

This endorsement addresses costs following the dismissal of an anti-SLAPP motion brought by the defendant, Michael Bueckert, and a cross-motion by the plaintiff, Michele Di Franco, to strike Mr. Bueckert's affidavit.

The court found no reason to depart from the statutory presumption against awarding costs on the anti-SLAPP motion, as it was not frivolous and the expression related to a matter of public interest.

However, on the motion to strike the affidavit, the court awarded Mr. Bueckert $3000 in partial indemnity costs against Mr. Di Franco, after considering factors under Rule 57.01(1) and discounting the amount for work that may have future utility.

Michael Bueckert brought an anti-SLAPP motion under s. 137.1 of the Courts of Justice Act to dismiss a defamation action brought by Michele Di Franco.

Di Franco also brought a cross-motion to strike Bueckert's affidavit.

The court dismissed both motions, finding that Di Franco's defamation claim had substantial merit and Bueckert's defenses of fair comment and justification might not succeed.

The court also found that the harm to Di Franco's reputation, particularly as a law student, was sufficiently serious to outweigh the public interest in protecting Bueckert's expression, especially given the vitriolic nature of some of the statements.

The defendant police board brought a motion for summary judgment to dismiss the plaintiff's claims for malicious prosecution, negligent investigation, and breaches of ss. 7 and 8 Charter rights, stemming from his 2004 arrest and charges.

The plaintiff opposed, arguing issue estoppel based on a prior criminal ruling that excluded evidence due to a s. 8 Charter breach.

The court found that reasonable and probable grounds existed for the arrest and charges at the time, despite the subsequent exclusion of evidence in criminal proceedings.

It determined that the prior Charter remedy (exclusion of evidence and dismissal of charges) was sufficient and no further monetary damages were appropriate, especially given the plaintiff likely committed the offences.

The motion for summary judgment was granted, and the plaintiff's claims were dismissed.

The appellants appealed a contempt of court order finding them in breach of a restoration order issued by Lahaie J. The appellants had been convicted under the Conservation Authorities Act for interfering with and removing material from wetlands.

The restoration order required them to rehabilitate and restore the wetlands to conform with guidelines set by the Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority within six months.

The appellants argued the order was ambiguous and did not clearly specify what they were required to do.

The Court of Appeal upheld the contempt finding, holding that the order was sufficiently clear when read in context with the judge's reasons, and that the appellants deliberately and wilfully disobeyed the order rather than being unable to comply with it.

The defendant, B’nai Brith Canada, brought a motion under s. 137.1(3) of the Courts of Justice Act to dismiss a libel action initiated by the plaintiff, Alexander Dimitri Lascaris, as a strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP).

The plaintiff claimed damages for an article and tweet published by the defendant.

The court found that the defendant's expression related to a matter of public interest (the conflict in the Middle East and the BDS movement).

The burden then shifted to the plaintiff to demonstrate substantial merit, no valid defence, and that the harm outweighed the public interest in protecting the expression.

The court concluded that the plaintiff could not overcome the defence of fair comment, as it was arguable that a person could honestly believe the plaintiff's actions constituted support for terrorists, even if unreasonable.

Consequently, the defendant's motion was granted, and the plaintiff's action was dismissed.

The applicants sought to vary a sealing order under s. 487.3(4) of the Criminal Code to obtain access to the Information to Obtain search warrants executed at two residences.

They argued that, as non‑accused persons affected by the search, they had a presumptive right to access the materials in order to assess potential Charter s. 8 violations.

The Crown opposed, arguing that a non‑accused must first present some evidence suggesting the authorization was obtained unlawfully before a court will review sealed materials.

The court adopted the approach from Michaud v. Quebec (Attorney General) and R. v. Schmidt, requiring a preliminary evidentiary basis before varying a sealing order.

Because the applicants filed no evidence suggesting unlawful authorization of the warrants, the application was dismissed.

The applicant, a medical resident, sought judicial review of a decision by the university's Senate Appeals Committee that upheld her placement on academic probation due to poor performance and patient safety concerns.

The applicant argued that the committee violated procedural fairness and that its decision was unreasonable.

The Divisional Court dismissed the application, finding that the committee provided a high degree of procedural fairness, cured any minor procedural defects through a de novo hearing, and reached a reasonable decision within its academic expertise.

The applicants sought to subdivide land and appealed draft conditions to the Ontario Municipal Board, arguing Charter violations.

The City successfully moved to strike the Charter issues.

Nine months later, the applicants sought reconsideration, which the Board refused.

A single judge of the Divisional Court denied leave to appeal that refusal.

The applicants then moved before a three-judge panel of the Divisional Court to set aside the single judge's decision.

The panel dismissed the motion, finding the single judge did not decline jurisdiction and reasonably concluded the Board's emphasis on finality and procedural rules was appropriate.