Matthew Ian Milne-Smith

The appellants sought to certify a class action against the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation on behalf of problem gamblers who had signed self-exclusion forms but were subsequently permitted to enter gambling venues and suffered losses.

The action alleged breach of contract, negligence, and occupiers' liability.

The Court of Appeal upheld the lower courts' decisions denying certification, finding that the claims required highly individualized inquiries into each class member's vulnerability, gambling history, and personal autonomy.

The court concluded that a class proceeding was not the preferable procedure as the common issues would not significantly advance the litigation.

Two appeals were brought from the decision of a Claims Officer in insolvency proceedings under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act concerning disputed landlord claims arising from leases originally entered in 1979.

One appellant challenged the Claims Officer’s jurisdiction to permit an amendment to a proof of claim and argued that the landlord failed to provide clear and timely notice of an intention to seek prospective damages following lease repudiation.

The other appellant argued that its claim was wrongly disallowed on the basis that notice of its intention to claim damages was untimely and prejudicial to the assignor tenant.

The court held that the Claims Officer had jurisdiction under the claims order to permit amendments and determine procedural matters and that the notice given by one landlord was sufficient.

The court also held that the second landlord’s delayed notice, after entering into a new lease in mitigation, prejudiced the assignor and justified disallowance of its claim.

Both appeals were dismissed.

In a contested federal election application, the appeal examined whether voting process defects required annulment where the vote margin was narrow.

The majority adopted a substantive test requiring proof both of a statutory irregularity tied to entitlement and that a person not entitled to vote actually voted.

It held multiple disqualified ballots should be restored because the evidentiary record supported entitlement or failed to prove an entitlement defect on the required standard.

The remaining invalid votes did not meet the threshold to overturn the result.

The appeal was allowed, the cross-appeal was dismissed, and the fresh-evidence motion was dismissed.

The plaintiff sought leave to commence a secondary market misrepresentation action under the Securities Act and to certify a class proceeding against the defendants for misrepresentation, conspiracy, and oppression.

The plaintiff alleged that the defendants fabricated a financial crisis by including a 'going concern' note in the company's financial statements to artificially depress the share price, allowing insiders to acquire shares cheaply.

The court dismissed the motion for leave, finding no reasonable possibility of success at trial, as the financial disclosures were factual, required by GAAP, and made after reasonable investigation.

The court also refused to certify the conspiracy claim due to a lack of factual basis and struck the oppression claim, ruling that the Ontario Superior Court lacked subject-matter jurisdiction over an oppression remedy under the British Columbia Business Corporations Act.

Case conference endorsement in a civil action involving claims against a provincial gaming corporation and casino operators.

The court issued procedural directions concerning case management, amendments to pleadings, disclosure of expert reports, production of medical records, and scheduling of future attendances.

The court declined to appoint a case management judge and set timelines for expert evidence and document production.

Directions were also given for any pre-trial motions to be brought before the same judge, with permission for counsel to attend by telephone.

The plaintiffs sought certification of a price‑fixing class action for settlement purposes against certain chocolate manufacturers and approval of a settlement with one defendant.

The action alleged a conspiracy to fix, maintain, or stabilize prices of chocolate confectionery products in Canada, contrary to competition law.

The court considered the requirements for certification under the Class Proceedings Act, 1992 and approved certification for settlement purposes, noting that common issues and preferable procedure criteria were satisfied.

The court further approved a $5.3 million settlement with the settling defendant, including cooperation provisions and a most‑favoured‑nation clause, finding the compromise fair, reasonable, and in the best interests of the class.

An interim class counsel fee award of $800,000 inclusive of disbursements and tax was approved, subject to possible adjustment depending on future settlements.

The respondent in a proposed class action moved to strike the appellants' reply factum filed on a motion for leave to appeal.

The Court of Appeal granted the motion, finding that the respondent's factum did not raise any new issues but was entirely responsive to the appellants' factum.

Under Rule 61.03.1(11), a reply factum is only permitted if the responding party raises an issue on which the moving party has not taken a position.

The appellant appealed a summary judgment dismissing its claims against the respondents for knowing assistance in a breach of trust, conspiracy, and unjust enrichment.

The claims hinged on whether a defendant breached a fiduciary duty and duty of confidence by acquiring a mining property allegedly on the appellant's behalf.

The Court of Appeal applied the 'full appreciation' test for summary judgment and upheld the motion judge's finding that the documentary evidence overwhelmingly contradicted the appellant's assertion of an agency relationship.

The appeal was dismissed.

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association and the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network sought leave to intervene as friends of the court in an appeal concerning whether the common law recognizes a tort of invasion of privacy.

The appellant supported the motions, while the respondent opposed them.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the motions, finding that the proposed intervenors would not offer a significantly different perspective from the appellant and that permitting the interventions would cause injustice to the respondent by delaying the scheduled appeal and requiring new factums.

The appellant Rogers acquired Call-Net and subsequently terminated the respondent real estate broker's services without cause.

The broker sued for commission based on a termination clause that provided for payment based on work completed.

The trial judge awarded $800,000, representing 40% of the projected commission for a 10-year lease mandate.

On appeal, Rogers argued the trial judge misinterpreted the contract's termination and compensation clauses and improperly relied on subjective intentions.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding the trial judge correctly interpreted the contract based on objective surrounding circumstances and the clear wording of the termination clause.

The broker's cross-appeal seeking a higher commission percentage was also dismissed.

The bankrupt company's creditors appealed an order dismissing their motion under s. 135(5) of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act to challenge a proof of claim filed by a judgment creditor.

The proof of claim was based on a Singapore judgment.

The creditors argued that the judgment creditor received payments from a third party that should be set off against the judgment debt to prevent double recovery.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, holding that the creditors did not have an unqualified right to challenge a valid judgment debt under s. 135(5).

The court further held that the creditors were privies of the bankrupt company and were barred by the doctrine of res judicata from re-litigating the mitigation and set-off issues, which had already been determined in the Singapore proceedings.

The appellant brought a motion to introduce fresh evidence on appeal regarding the enforcement of a Singapore judgment in Ontario.

The fresh evidence consisted of affidavits from a Singapore litigant who faced criminal contempt proceedings after criticizing the Singapore judicial system.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the motion, applying the Palmer test.

The court found that the evidence could have been obtained earlier with due diligence and, given its political context, would not have affected the outcome of the commercial dispute.

The appellant appealed a decision recognizing and enforcing a judgment granted against it by the High Court of the Republic of Singapore.

The appellant argued that the Singapore judgment should not be enforced because it was granted by a corrupt legal system with biased judges.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding that the foreign court properly assumed jurisdiction and that the appellant failed to establish the defences of public policy, bias, or lack of natural justice.

The court held that there was no cogent evidence of bias or corruption in private commercial cases in Singapore.

The appellant appealed the judgment of Justice Swinton.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding it unnecessary to comment on the standard of review and agreeing with the reasons of the motion judge which adequately dealt with the grounds of appeal.

Costs were awarded to the respondents.

The appellant, a paralegal, was convicted of fabricating court documents.

He sought a stay of proceedings on the basis that his lawyers were in a conflict of interest, having advised another client to report his forgery to the police while simultaneously representing him on unrelated criminal charges.

The Supreme Court of Canada held that while the law firm breached its duty of loyalty by acting adversely to a current client, a stay of proceedings was not warranted because the conflict did not affect the fairness of the trial or amount to an abuse of process.