Michael Hackl

The applicant, a member of a taxi co-operative, brought an application seeking disclosure of the co-operative's members' list to assist in his bid for election to the board of directors.

After the application was commenced, the applicant complied with the statutory requirement to provide an affidavit, and the co-operative disclosed the list, rendering the main relief moot.

The court awarded the applicant partial indemnity costs up to the date of disclosure because the co-operative had not been transparent about the statutory requirements.

The court declined to exercise its inherent jurisdiction to order the disclosure of members' email addresses and telephone numbers, finding that the statute only required disclosure of names and addresses.

On appeal, the court concluded the appellant should have been successful at trial and awarded damages of $438,113 in addition to other relief.

The appellant had made a pre-trial Rule 49 offer to settle for $180,000.

The court determined the appellant was entitled to partial indemnity costs up to the date of the offer and substantial indemnity costs thereafter.

However, because a significant portion of the trial involved testing claims the appellant made which the trial judge found to be untrue, and many of those findings were undisturbed on appeal, the costs award was adjusted to reflect that the trial was not an unqualified success for the appellant.

The defendant owner in a construction lien action brought a motion for leave under section 56(1) of the Construction Lien Act to join an officer of the plaintiff contractor as a third party.

The proposed third party claim sought contribution and indemnity for allegedly false statutory declarations sworn by the officer.

The court dismissed the motion, finding that the proposed claims were not true claims for contribution and indemnity related to the plaintiff's lien claim, but rather separate claims for damages that resembled trust claims, which are prohibited from being joined with lien claims under section 50(2) of the Act.

The applicants sought an order under s. 56 of the Personal Property Security Act to discharge a financing statement registered by the respondents asserting a security interest in the applicants’ personal property.

The registration was based on purported unilateral “fee schedules” and invoices claiming millions of dollars for alleged intimidation and unauthorized use of a name.

The court found no security agreement existed and concluded the PPSA registration was filed without colour of right as part of a pseudolegal “OPCA” style scheme.

The court ordered the discharge of the registration and awarded statutory damages of $500 under s. 56(4).

Substantial indemnity costs were ordered and the directing mind of the corporate respondent was held jointly liable with the corporation.

The applicant tenant sought damages for wrongful distress after the respondent landlord changed the locks and seized property for rent arrears.

The landlord counter-applied for rent arrears and property damage.

The court found that while the landlord had a right to distrain due to chronic rent arrears, it failed to prove the distress was executed during daylight hours, rendering it unlawful.

The tenant was awarded $10,000 for wrongful distress.

The landlord was awarded $89,060 for rent arrears, lost rent due to lack of notice, and property remediation costs, resulting in a net award to the landlord.