Mary Delli Quadri

The plaintiff brought a motion under Rule 30.10 of the Rules of Civil Procedure seeking production of the Crown brief and police investigation file from a criminal prosecution arising from a motor vehicle accident that caused the death of the plaintiff’s father.

Liability for the accident had been admitted, but damages remained in dispute.

The plaintiff argued the materials were relevant to aggravating circumstances affecting psychological injury damages, including allegations the defendant was texting while driving.

Applying the third‑party production test and factors articulated by the Court of Appeal, the court held the requested materials were reasonably likely to contain information probative of damages and that it would be unfair to require the plaintiff to proceed without access to them.

Given the Crown’s consent and the potential evidentiary relevance, production was ordered.

The appellant, an Ontario resident, sued for injuries caused by falling ice from premises in Quebec owned by the respondent.

The motion judge stayed the action for lack of jurisdiction simpliciter, finding no real and substantial connection with Ontario.

The Court of Appeal upheld the stay, agreeing that the appellant's financial position and ongoing damages in Ontario were insufficient to establish jurisdiction.

However, the Court granted leave to appeal costs, finding the motion judge's award disproportionate, and reduced the costs award by half.

The appellants appealed a jury verdict in a motor vehicle accident case, arguing the trial judge erred in instructing the jury on negligence, proximate cause, and the onus on a driver who was on the wrong side of the road.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding that the jury charge, read as a whole, properly instructed the jury that the onus was on the defendant to explain how the accident occurred without his negligence due to an emergency situation.

The jury's conclusion that the defendant acted as an ordinary, prudent person in an emergency was upheld.

The appellants appealed a trial judgment dismissing their action for damages arising from a severe neural tube defect allegedly caused by exposure to TCE.

The Court of Appeal upheld the trial judge's rejection of the appellants' expert theory of causation, finding no palpable and overriding error.

The court confirmed that the exceptional material contribution test for causation from Resurfice Corp. v. Hanke did not apply, as the evidence established no association between TCE and the defect.

The appeal was dismissed with costs.