Meghan S. Bridges

The University of Toronto brought a motion for an interlocutory injunction to dismantle a protest encampment set up by students and others on Front Campus.

The protesters argued the encampment was a protected exercise of their rights to freedom of expression, association, and assembly.

The court granted the injunction, finding that the University established a strong prima facie case of trespass and ejectment.

The court held that the protesters' appropriation of University property to the exclusion of others constituted irreparable harm.

The balance of convenience favoured the University, as the injunction only prohibited camping and erecting structures, while allowing the protesters to continue demonstrating elsewhere on campus.

In an alternative analysis, the court found that the Charter does not apply to the University's management of its property, and even if it did, the trespass notice was a justified limit under section 1.

In a medical malpractice action concerning obstetrical negligence resulting in a child's severe brain damage, the jury found the defendant doctors breached the standard of care and caused the injuries.

The defendants brought a motion under Rule 52.08(1) arguing there was no evidence to support the causation finding, or alternatively, that the jury's answers on causation were unresponsive.

The trial judge found there was some evidence to support causation, but held that the jury's answers on causation were fatally flawed because they merely repeated the standard of care answers (as improperly suggested by plaintiffs' counsel) and failed to explain how the negligence caused the brain damage.

As a result, the trial judge refused to enter judgment on the verdict and ordered a new trial.