ONCA 2025

This endorsement addresses cross-motions by Basseth McLean and Sonia Connell, each seeking to have the other declared a vexatious litigant under the Rules of Civil Procedure and the Courts of Justice Act.

The Court reviews the lengthy litigation history between the parties, including multiple appeals and motions regarding the sale of their former matrimonial home and related costs.

Both vexatious litigant motions are dismissed, as is Ms. Connell’s motion to strike Mr. McLean’s pleadings.

The Court grants Mr. McLean an extension to file responding materials and allows Ms. Connell to add an appeal of a costs order to her perfected appeal.

The Court sets strict directions to ensure the efficient progress of the appeal and prohibits further motions without leave.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario dismissed Hunter Smith’s appeal from his conviction and sentence for aggravated assault arising from a nightclub incident.

The court found no merit in the arguments that the trial judge misapprehended the evidence, failed to consider all relevant evidence, or erred in sentencing.

The court addressed the risk of cross-racial misidentification but found it was not a serious danger in this case.

The five-month custodial sentence was upheld as fit and principled.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario dismissed David Tweneboa-Kodua’s motion for leave to appeal an order lifting a stay of eviction, finding the court lacked jurisdiction.

The proper avenue to challenge the Divisional Court’s order was a motion before a panel of that court, not an appeal to the Court of Appeal.

The court found the motion frivolous and an abuse of process, and made no order as to costs.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario dismissed the appeal of Heeralall Ramdeo from convictions for kidnapping, use of an imitation firearm to commit an assault, and possession of an imitation firearm for a purpose dangerous to the public peace.

The court found no error in the trial judge’s reliance on the evidence of the complainant, a Vetrovec witness, nor in the application of the W.(D.) standard or the assessment of credibility.

The court held that the trial judge properly scrutinized the evidence, found sufficient confirmatory evidence, and gave detailed reasons for his findings.

The appellant, Dave Marcotte, sought an extension of time to perfect his appeal of a divorce order, arguing the date of separation used in the proceedings was incorrect.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the motion, finding the appeal fundamentally misconceived because the proper forum for challenging the date of separation was a motion under r. 25(19) of the Family Law Rules in the Superior Court, which Mr. Marcotte had already commenced.

The court held that the appeal would be rendered moot by the outcome of that motion and that the merits of the appeal did not justify an extension of time.

Costs of $2,500 were awarded to the respondent, Christina Marcotte.

The appellant, Deepan Budlakoti, appealed his conviction for firearms offences, arguing that he was entrapped by a police agent.

The Court of Appeal addressed three grounds: alleged improper reliance on a hearsay statement, failure to consider the police agent’s financial motive, and failure to treat the agent as a Vetrovec witness.

The court found no error in the trial judge’s approach to any of these issues and dismissed the appeal.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario dismissed Aris Saha’s conviction and sentence appeals for sexual assault.

The court found no error in the trial judge’s analysis of consent, including her treatment of the complainant’s alleged statement about “liking it rough” and her assessment of the evidence regarding subjective consent.

The court also upheld the 12-month custodial sentence, finding it was not demonstrably unfit and that the trial judge properly considered the available sentencing options and relevant factors.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario dismissed Jitesh Bhogal’s appeal from his conviction for first degree murder.

The appellant argued that the trial judge erred by not instructing the jury on the defence of extreme intoxication akin to automatism in relation to the alleged sexual assault, and by mischaracterizing expert evidence on the cause of death.

The Court found that there was no air of reality to the extreme intoxication defence on the evidence, and that any misstatements of the expert evidence did not cause substantial prejudice.

The conviction was upheld.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario granted the moving party, M.H., several orders following the administrative dismissal of O.K.'s family law appeal.

The court awarded costs for motions, declared the costs awards to be "support orders" under the Family Responsibility and Support Arrears Enforcement Act, 1996, and directed the issuance and enforcement of support deduction orders.

The decision clarifies the enforceability of costs awards as support orders and the process for their enforcement through the Family Responsibility Office.

The appellant, Rasha Al-Enzi, appealed her 11-year sentence for kidnapping with a prohibited firearm and robbery with a restricted firearm, both arising from home invasions.

The Court of Appeal reviewed the aggravating and mitigating factors considered by the sentencing judge, including the seriousness of the offences, the presence of children, and the appellant’s personal circumstances.

The appellant argued for concurrent sentences and raised concerns about the treatment of her parenthood as an aggravating factor.

The Court found no error in the sentencing judge’s exercise of discretion, held that consecutive sentences were appropriate, and dismissed the appeal.

The appellant, Amy Smith Cox, appealed a detention order of the Ontario Review Board that found she continued to pose a significant threat of serious harm to the public and imposed a no-contact provision with her father.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal regarding the significant threat finding but allowed the appeal in part regarding the no-contact provision, varying it to permit contact with her father at the discretion of the treatment team.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario allowed the appeal of Andrew Zock, who was convicted of sexual assault after a judge-alone trial.

The court found that Zock received ineffective assistance of counsel because his trial lawyer elected the mode of trial (judge-alone) without Zock’s informed instructions or advice about his right to a jury trial.

The court set aside the conviction and ordered a new trial before a judge and jury, finding that the loss of the right to elect the mode of trial constituted a miscarriage of justice.

The court rejected the appellant’s argument that the verdict was unreasonable, holding that the trial judge’s finding of incapacity to consent was supported by the evidence.

The appellant, Milad Babadi, sought to reopen his appeal from convictions and sentence after his appeal was previously dismissed.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario declined to admit new evidence and dismissed the motion to reopen, finding no compelling basis to do so and confirming the finality of its earlier decision.

The appellant, Justin Aghayere Omoragbon, sought leave to appeal his 26-month sentence for breaking and entering a dwelling-house.

He argued that the sentencing judge erred by not accepting the 18-month sentence proposed by the Crown and later adopted by the defence.

The Court of Appeal found that there was no joint submission on sentence, no violation of the principles in R. v. Nahanee or R. v. Anthony-Cook, and that the sentencing judge properly considered the mitigating factors and the appellant’s circumstances.

Leave to appeal was granted, but the appeal was dismissed.

The appellant, Shafaq Joya, appealed the Ontario Review Board’s decision to continue his conditional discharge and deny his Charter application for an absolute discharge.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario dismissed the appeal, finding that the Board’s assessment of risk and refusal to grant an absolute discharge were reasonable and supported by the evidence.

The court also found no Charter breach, as the Board’s decision was based on public safety, not resource limitations.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario dismissed Lynne Catherine Foulidis’s motion for a panel review and to set aside the Deputy Registrar’s order dismissing her appeal for delay.

The court found that the motion judge correctly concluded the appeal lacked merit and that the criteria for an extension of time to perfect the appeal were not met.

The court reviewed the trial judge’s findings regarding the retainer agreement and legal fees, and found no palpable and overriding error.

Costs were awarded to the respondent.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario considered three appeals arising from two convictions and an order for a new trial in impaired driving cases.

The central issue was whether, under the amended Criminal Code, the Crown must adduce direct evidence from an analyst or the analyst’s certificate to prove the alcohol standard used to calibrate an Approved Instrument, or whether the certificate or testimony of a qualified technician is sufficient.

The court followed the Yukon Court of Appeal’s decision in R. v. MacDonald, holding that the qualified technician’s certificate is evidence of the facts alleged in it, including that the alcohol standard was certified by an analyst.

The appeals were dismissed.

The moving party, Stephen Moranis, sought an extension of time to perfect his appeal in a long-running dispute with the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) and others regarding access to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) system and alleged breaches of a settlement agreement.

The Court reviewed the procedural history, including multiple actions, settlements, and motions, and applied the established factors for granting extensions of time.

While expressing reservations about the merits of the appeal, the Court granted a limited extension to August 1, 2025, finding no prejudice to the respondents and that the justice of the case warranted the extension.