Martin Mendelzon

The appellant appealed the summary dismissal of his defamation action against the author and publisher of a book about a street gang.

The appellant claimed a passage comparing him to a movie character carried defamatory meanings, including that he was a murderer and a psychopath.

The Court of Appeal upheld the motion judge's finding that the words were not capable of bearing those defamatory meanings and that true innuendo had not been properly pleaded.

However, the Court allowed the appeal in part to reduce the motion judge's costs award from substantial indemnity to partial indemnity, finding that Rule 49 did not automatically warrant substantial indemnity costs for a successful defendant.

The respondents sold trademarks and a customer base to a corporation under a purchase agreement, with the purchase price payable by post-dated cheques.

The appellant, the sole director of the corporation, signed the agreement personally under a clause requiring him to cover any bounced cheques.

After the corporation went into receivership and cheques bounced, the respondents obtained partial summary judgment against the appellant on the personal guarantee.

The appellant appealed, arguing inadequate reasons, lack of a liability finding against the corporation, and that the clause was not a guarantee.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding the reasons adequate, noting a guarantee is enforceable even if the principal debtor is bankrupt, and concluding the clause clearly constituted a personal guarantee.

The appellants appealed an order validating substituted service of a statement of claim on defendants residing in Guatemala.

Guatemala is not a signatory to the Hague Convention, and service was attempted by notaries in a manner that did not comply with Guatemalan law.

The Divisional Court dismissed the appeal, upholding the motion judge's finding that Rule 17.05(2) unambiguously allows a plaintiff to choose to serve a foreign party in accordance with Ontario rules when the foreign jurisdiction is a non-contracting state.

The Court held that this express rule overrides the international principle of comity.

The moving parties brought a motion to quash an appeal from an order that declared and validated service of a fresh statement of claim.

The Court of Appeal held that the order was interlocutory because it did not determine the real matters in dispute or deprive the responding parties of any substantive defence.

The motion was allowed, the appeal was quashed, and the matter was transferred to the Divisional Court where the responding parties could seek leave to appeal.

The applicant sought to enforce letters rogatory issued by a United States District Court compelling Ontario non-parties to provide testimony and documents for use in U.S. antitrust class actions alleging polyurethane foam price‑fixing.

The court applied the established criteria governing enforcement of foreign letters rogatory, including relevance, necessity, availability of evidence elsewhere, public policy concerns, specificity, and burden.

The court found the criteria satisfied for two respondents and held that enforcement would not violate Canadian sovereignty or the respondents’ Charter protections against self‑incrimination.

The application was granted with conditions requiring examinations to proceed under Ontario procedural rules and subject to Charter and Evidence Act protections, while the application against a third respondent was dismissed due to insufficient evidentiary basis.

The moving defendants sought an extension of time to deliver their statements of defence in a complex commercial action alleging conspiracy and misappropriation of corporate assets relating to an international family business enterprise.

The plaintiffs opposed the request and argued the defendants should immediately challenge the pleadings or deliver defences.

The court exercised its discretion under the Rules of Civil Procedure to extend the time, finding that jurisdiction and service motions involving foreign defendants could significantly affect the structure of the litigation.

Requiring the defendants to attack the pleadings or file defences before those issues were resolved would create inefficiency, risk inconsistent rulings, and provide little practical progress in the litigation.

The extension was granted until the final determination of service and jurisdiction motions involving the foreign defendants.