Michael John Saad

This is an appeal from a decision dismissing an action for abuse of process due to the appellant's failure to immediately disclose a settlement agreement.

The appellant, Skymark Finance Corporation, entered into Minutes of Settlement with a key defendant, Lorraine Smith, which fundamentally altered the litigation dynamics by changing an adversarial relationship into a cooperative one.

Skymark failed to disclose this agreement for eight months, only doing so after being threatened with an abuse of process motion.

The motion judge stayed the action, and the Court of Appeal upheld this decision, reiterating the strict obligation for immediate disclosure of such agreements and confirming that the absence of prejudice does not excuse non-compliance.

The applicant, Jordan Ash, brought a motion for directions seeking to compel the registrar to accept a request to admit for filing under Rule 51.02 of the Rules of Civil Procedure, to be used in a pending motion for leave to appeal.

The registrar had refused filing, asserting Rule 51.02 does not apply to motions for leave to appeal.

The court dismissed the applicant's motion, holding that Rule 51.02 is a pre-trial process intended for developing the factual record before a fact-determining hearing, and is not applicable at the appellate stage where the factual record is already settled.

The self-represented plaintiff noted all defendants in default without providing prior notice of her intention to do so.

The defendants, comprising the Attorney General of Canada, municipal police, and other officials, moved to set aside the noting in default.

The court applied the factors from Intact Insurance Company v. Kisel and found that the defendants had always intended to defend the action, acted promptly upon learning of the default, and that the plaintiff's failure to provide notice deprived them of the opportunity to respond.

The court set aside the noting in default, allowing the claims to be determined on their merits.

The Attorney General of Ontario brought a motion to seal the entire court file in a civil action for wrongful arrest, arguing it was necessary to protect the integrity of an ongoing criminal proceeding.

The plaintiffs consented to sealing but sought additional terms, while the Toronto Star opposed the broad sealing order.

The court found that sealing the entire file was overly broad and violated the open court principle, ordering instead that only the unredacted amended statement of claim containing Stinchcombe disclosure be sealed.

The applicants sought an order in the nature of mandamus to compel the Chief Medical Officer of Health to halt the pediatric COVID-19 vaccination program in Ontario.

The respondent moved to quash the application for judicial review.

The court granted the motion to quash, finding it plain and obvious that the application could not succeed because the Chief Medical Officer of Health's authority to issue directives is discretionary and conditional on forming specific opinions, which were not pleaded.

The court also found that the applicants lacked public interest standing.

This is an appeal concerning the application of limitation periods to tort claims, including sexual assault, against a police officer.

The motion judge had dismissed the appellant's motions to strike and for summary judgment, finding that the sexual assault allegations triggered s. 16(1)(h) of the Limitations Act, 2002, and that s. 16(1.3) extended this to related torts due to the officer's position of trust.

The Court of Appeal upheld the motion judge's decision regarding the application of s. 16(1.3) to claims against the perpetrator and related torts, but set aside the declaration that no limitation period applied to all claims, stating this ultimate determination should be left to the trial judge.

The appeal regarding costs was dismissed, affirming the motion judge's award.

The Attorney General of Ontario brought an application for a preservation order under the Civil Remedies Act, 2001, seeking to preserve $91,072 in Canadian currency and $510 in US currency seized from a suspected illegal gaming house.

The court found reasonable grounds to believe the currency constituted proceeds and/or instruments of unlawful activity, including operating a gaming house and firearm offenses.

The application was granted, and the seized funds were ordered to be preserved in an interest-bearing account until the final disposition of the application.