COURT OF APPEAL FOR ONTARIO

DATE: 20000410

DOCKET: C33425

RE: LIBERO C. PACI (Plaintiff/Appellant) –and– THE BANK
OF NOVA SCOTIA (Defendant/Respondent)

BEFORE: CATZMAN, BORINS and FELDMAN JJ.A.

COUNSEL: Libero Paci, the appellant, in person
Robert MacRae, for the respondent

HEARD: April 6, 2000

On appeal from the order of Hennessy J. dated November 30, 1999.

E N D O R S E M E N T

[1] The appellant submits that the essence of his claim is a
declaration of his competence as a lawyer. He asks in
consequence for an order requiring the bank to include him among
the list of lawyers qualified to act for the bank.

[2] The appellant referred the court to an internal manual of
the bank which sets out the competence criteria the bank uses in
retaining lawyers. He also referred to s.158(2) of the Bank Act
which obliges employees of the bank to comply with, among other
things, its by-laws. There was, however, no evidence on the
summary judgment motion whether the manual referred to was
promulgated pursuant to a by-law of the bank, and the appellant
did not avail himself of the opportunity to cross-examine, the
bank’s representative on his affidavit in support of the motion
for summary judgment in order to obtain that necessary piece of
information.

[3] No other basis is suggested on which the court could compel
the bank to include the appellant on its list of qualified
lawyers.

[4] There is no jurisdiction in the court to make the
declaration requested by the appellant respecting the appellant’s
competence as a lawyer.

[5] We therefore agree, on the record before the court, that the
action as framed was properly dismissed on the motion for summary
judgment brought by the respondent. The appeal is dismissed with
costs.

Signed: “M.A. Catzman J.A.”
“S. Borins J.A.”
“K. Feldman J.A.”