The appellant, Aliesha Verma, brought a motion to stay an order of Stewart J. pending appeal to the Court of Appeal for Ontario.
The underlying order declared that a dog, Rocco Jr., was owned by the deceased Leonard Carvalho and formed part of his estate, ordering Ms. Verma to return the dog to the estate trustee.
The motions judge applied the three-part test for a stay from RJR-MacDonald Inc. v. Canada (Attorney General): serious question to be tried, irreparable harm, and balance of convenience.
The court found that the grounds of appeal had little prospect of success, that Ms. Verma failed to establish irreparable harm related to the denial of the stay, and that the balance of convenience favoured the estate trustee due to Ms. Verma's past conduct and social media campaign.
The motion for a stay was dismissed, and costs were awarded to the responding party.
