Michael A. Wilson

The applicant, a self-represented accused in custody facing serious sexual assault charges, sought an order for broader internet and email access to prepare for his upcoming jury trial.

He argued that his current limited access to) of the Criminal Code this ruling is subject to a publication ban and shall not be transmitted, reproduced or broadcast in any manner until the jury is sequestered or a further order of this court.

The offender, an 18-year-old first-time offender, was convicted of arson after participating in the deliberate burning of a stolen pickup truck using gasoline in a dense residential complex.

The Crown sought a net sentence of nine months' custody, while the defence sought time served or a conditional sentence.

The court emphasized denunciation and deterrence for serious arson offences, declining a conditional sentence.

The offender was sentenced to seven months' net custody followed by two years of probation.

The accused was tried before a judge alone on two counts of sexual assault and one count of sexual touching arising from allegations made by a complainant who had been placed in the accused's foster home.

The court considered the complainant's delayed disclosure, inconsistent accounts, admitted substance abuse, memory difficulties, head injuries, and apology letter retracting the allegations, alongside the accused's denial and evidence concerning his whereabouts.

Applying the criminal burden of proof and the credibility principles in W. (D.) and Dinardo, the court found the accused's evidence believable and held that the Crown had not proven the offences beyond a reasonable doubt.

Acquittals were entered on all counts.

The applicant, Centerra Gold Inc., sought a permanent injunction against its former director, Tengiz Bolturuk, for breaching his fiduciary duties and duty of confidentiality.

Bolturuk, nominated by the Kyrgyz Republic's state-owned corporation, was found to have secretly orchestrated the takeover of Centerra's Kumtor gold mine by the Kyrgyz Republic while still a director, disclosing confidential information and subsequently becoming the External Manager of the seized mine.

The court found that Bolturuk's actions constituted a clear usurpation of corporate opportunity and a flagrant breach of his duties, rejecting his justifications.

The court affirmed its jurisdiction over a former director for breaches stemming from their position and found damages to be an inadequate remedy.

Bolturuk's cross-motion to set aside an interim injunction was dismissed.

The permanent injunction was granted, and substantial indemnity costs were awarded against Bolturuk.

The Crown brought a dangerous offender application following the offender's convictions for gang sexual assault, choking, forcible confinement, and uttering threats.

The offender had a lengthy criminal record involving extreme violence, often committed while intoxicated, and was diagnosed with likely schizophrenia, antisocial personality disorder, and substance use disorders.

The court found the offender met the criteria for a dangerous offender designation under s. 753(1)(a)(ii) of the Criminal Code.

Concluding that the offender's risk of violent recidivism was intractable and could not be adequately managed in the community on a long-term supervision order, the court imposed an indeterminate sentence.

This motion concerned compelling answers to outstanding undertakings, under advisements, and refusals from the defendants' discovery.

The applicants, Symtech and Kelson, sought documents related to delays caused by a bankrupt subcontractor (Blackrock), an insurance claim made by the defendants (Bird) on a "Subguard" policy, and acceleration change orders to other trades.

The defendants resisted on grounds of relevance and privilege.

The court ordered production of documents related to Blackrock delays, the Subguard claim, and acceleration change orders, finding them relevant.

However, the court upheld litigation and settlement privilege for Bird's internal assessments of Symtech and Kelson's claims, provided these privileged documents are itemized.

The applicant sought leave to appeal orders that dismissed its cross-motion requiring the respondent to post the amount of a foreign arbitral award and ordered the applicant to post security for costs.

The Divisional Court granted leave to appeal, finding reason to doubt the correctness of the application judge's decision because it failed to consider Article 36 of the International Commercial Arbitration Act, which governs the grounds for refusing recognition of an award and the specific circumstances for ordering security for costs.

The court noted the matter's importance to international comity.

The applicants, commercial real estate developers, sought judicial review of a decision by the City of Toronto Council to deny their applications for property tax rebate grants under a community improvement plan by-law.

The applicants argued that because their projects met the threshold eligibility criteria, the City was required to approve the grants.

The Divisional Court dismissed the application, finding that the by-law and governing legislation conferred broad discretion on the Council to consider other factors, including whether the grants were economically necessary for the projects to proceed.

The Court also found no denial of procedural fairness and awarded costs to the City.

The offenders, two brothers, were convicted of second degree murder for the planned and deliberate killing of an innocent 17-year-old victim, whom they mistakenly believed was associated with a group that had previously robbed one of the offenders.

The Crown sought a 22-year period of parole ineligibility, while the defence sought 13-17 years, citing systemic anti-Black racism and harsh pre-trial custody conditions.

The court found the murder to be exceptionally egregious, bordering on first degree murder, and sentenced both offenders to life imprisonment with a 20-year period of parole ineligibility, alongside mandatory weapons prohibitions and DNA orders.

Following a judge-alone criminal trial, the court convicted the defendant of sexual assault with another person, choking to enable sexual assault, forcible confinement, uttering death threats, and assault arising from multiple assaults in the complainant's apartment over several hours.

Applying the W.(D.) framework, the court rejected the defendant's evidence of consensual intercourse and accepted the complainant's evidence despite some sequencing errors and omissions in her police statement.

The court relied on corroborative circumstantial evidence including the state of the bedroom, surveillance footage of an attempted escape and locked apartment door, injuries, prayer-related clothing, and DNA evidence linking both men to genital and anal swabs.

The publication ban protecting the complainant's identity remains in force.

The applicants sought an order requiring the respondent credit union to return approximately $5,000,000 that had been held in their accounts.

The credit union, under administration by the regulator, had unilaterally collapsed the applicants' term deposits and appropriated the funds, claiming a right of set-off under the Credit Unions and Caisses Populaires Act, 1994 for unliquidated damages related to alleged fraud and breach of fiduciary duty.

The court held that the statutory right of set-off does not permit a financial institution to unilaterally appropriate funds for unliquidated and disputed claims without judicial determination.

The court ordered the credit union to restore the accounts to their previous state and compensate the applicants for lost interest.

This decision from a Gardiner hearing addresses factual determinations for sentencing after Curtis Murray and Corey Murray were convicted of second-degree murder.

The court found beyond a reasonable doubt that the murder was planned and deliberate, motivated by revenge against a specific group, and that the victim was killed under the mistaken belief he was part of that group.

While the judge's legal view was that these facts would typically constitute first-degree murder, the jury's verdict of second-degree murder was respected.

The court also determined that Curtis Murray was the leader and instigator, with Corey Murray being a willing but more of a follower, which was considered a mitigating factor for Corey.

The defendant pled guilty to assault using an imitation weapon, uttering death threats, and failure to comply.

The court considered the aggravating factor of using an imitation firearm in broad daylight and the mitigating factors of a guilty plea, rehabilitation efforts, and a difficult childhood.

The court imposed a 12-month sentence, which was reduced to a suspended sentence after applying pre-sentence custody and Duncan credits for lockdown conditions at the Toronto South Detention Centre, followed by two years of probation.

The accused, Michael Lopez, was found guilty by a jury of human trafficking, receiving financial benefit from human trafficking, advertising sexual services, assault with a weapon, threatening death, obstructing justice, and two counts of assault.

He also pled guilty to two counts of breaching a recognizance.

The court considered sentencing principles, including denunciation, deterrence, and proportionality, and the significant aggravating factors of the prolonged exploitation and violence against a vulnerable complainant, balanced against the accused's rehabilitative efforts during pre-sentence custody.

The court imposed a global sentence of five years imprisonment, reduced to one year further imprisonment after accounting for four years of pre-sentence credit, followed by a three-year probation order with specific conditions.

The defendants Chamath Palihapitiya and El Investco 1 Inc. brought a motion for summary judgment, arguing the plaintiffs lacked evidence for their claims, particularly conspiracy.

The plaintiffs opposed, asserting that the conspiracy claims against the moving parties could not be severed from claims against other defendants not party to the motion.

The court dismissed the motion, finding that granting summary judgment for a subset of defendants risked inefficiencies, conflicting findings, and multiple appeals, especially given the proximity of the trial and the intertwined factual matrix.

This is a costs endorsement following an appeal in a pharmaceutical patent dispute.

The Court of Appeal determined that costs in the cause was not appropriate and awarded costs to the respondent on a partial indemnity basis: $15,000 from Takeda and $25,000 from Abbott, inclusive of disbursements and HST.

The accused, charged with first degree murder, sought to introduce evidence of two alternate sets of suspects at trial: a man known as 'Ammo' with an alleged jealousy motive, and associates of a man with a grudge against one of the accused who allegedly framed them.

The court applied the 'air of reality' test and found no evidential foundation for either theory.

The evidence regarding the alternate suspects lacked sufficient connection to the crime, including motive, opportunity, and propensity, and was therefore ruled inadmissible.

The accused, charged with first degree murder, brought a pre-trial application to exclude evidence seized during a police search of a motel room where he was arrested.

The accused was a casual visitor in the room, which was occupied by an acquaintance.

The court held that the accused lacked a reasonable expectation of privacy in the motel room and therefore had no standing to challenge the search under s. 8 of the Charter.

In the alternative, the court found no breach of s. 8, as there were no material misrepresentations in the Information to Obtain, the seizure of clothing was authorized, and an 18-day delay in reporting the seizure to a justice did not violate the Criminal Code.

The court further held that even if a breach had occurred, the evidence would be admissible under s. 24(2) of the Charter.

The application was dismissed.

The Crown sought to introduce evidence of the accused's post-offence conduct, including cutting his hair, removing identification from his apartment, and asking his girlfriend to change her police statement, as circumstantial evidence of consciousness of guilt in a first-degree murder trial.

The defence argued the evidence lacked probative value and was highly prejudicial.

The court held that the evidence was highly probative, not inherently prejudicial, and admissible, leaving it to the jury to determine what reasonable inferences could be drawn.

This appeal concerns damages claimed by Apotex for lost sales of its generic drug Apo-lansoprazole due to proceedings initiated by Abbott and Takeda under section 6 of the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations.

The motion judge dismissed the defendants' motion for summary judgment, finding that Apotex would have received regulatory approval on April 17, 2007, but for the section 6 proceedings.

The appellants argued that Apotex's submission was deficient because it lacked a high-fat meal bioequivalence study.

The Court of Appeal upheld the motion judge's decision, finding no legal requirement for such a study and ample evidence supporting approval on the original submission.