Court of Appeal for Ontario
Before: Juriansz, Rouleau and Watt JJ.A.
Between:
Her Majesty The Queen
Respondent
and
Gregory Dyer
Appellant
Counsel:
Gregory Dyer, acting in person
Greg Skerkowski, for the respondent
Heard and released orally: March 29, 2010
On appeal from the convictions entered by Justice T.C. Whetung of the Ontario Court of Justice on April 12, 2002.
ENDORSEMENT
1The appellant appeals his convictions for breach of trust and theft. The breach of trust conviction relates to his sale of a piece of real estate he held in trust for himself and two business partners or a company to be incorporated. The theft count relates to the appellant’s taking of several chattels on the property at the time it was sold.
2The appellant fell out with his partners and refused to transfer the option to purchase the property to the name of the three partners or their company. Instead, he exercised the option, purchased the property, then sold the property to a third party and placed the proceeds in his lawyer’s trust account. He then had some of the proceeds paid out to himself, which were allegedly to pay debts the company owed him as well as a sum of $5,000 recorded as a loan to himself. In this respect, the appellant accorded himself preferential treatment compared to his partners.
3The trial judge found, as the appellant admitted at trial, that he knew that he was not entitled to deal with the property and the proceeds unilaterally. The trial judge rejected his attempt to rely on legal advice as a justification on the basis that he had merely procured legal advice in support of his own agenda. These findings were open to the trial judge and provided a sufficient basis to support the breach of trust conviction. The same reasoning applies to the theft conviction.
4The appeal is dismissed.
“R.G. Juriansz J.A.”
“Paul Rouleau J.A.”
“David Watt J.A.”
