Paciocco

The appellants appealed an order requiring them to post $66,670 as security for costs pending the trial of their counterclaim.

The Court of Appeal raised the issue of jurisdiction, noting that orders for security for costs are interlocutory, not final.

The appellants argued the order was final in substance because they could not afford to pay it, which would end the litigation.

The Court of Appeal rejected this argument, holding that the legal nature of the order, not its practical effect, determines whether it is interlocutory or final.

The appeal was quashed for want of jurisdiction.

The appellants appealed a summary judgment order requiring them to pay $285,000 in damages to the respondents for breach of contract and unjust enrichment arising from a failed real estate transaction.

The parties had entered into an agreement for the respondents to purchase a parcel of land, conditional on the appellants obtaining municipal approval for a condominium conversion within two years.

When approval was not obtained, the respondents sued.

The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, finding the motion judge made palpable and overriding errors in concluding the appellants breached their duty of good faith.

The Court also held the motion judge erred in applying unjust enrichment where a contract governed the relationship, and failed to provide sufficient reasons for dismissing the appellants' counterclaim.

A new trial was ordered.

The appellant appealed an order striking his amended statement of claim and dismissing his action as statute-barred under the Limitations Act, 2002.

The underlying action involved allegations of water infiltration from neighbouring properties caused by the respondents' excavation of a trench, installation of a drainage ditch, and engineering of water drainage into a culvert.

The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, finding that the motion judge erred by treating multiple distinct instances of alleged tortious conduct as a single event.

Reading the pleadings generously, it was not plain and obvious that all claims were statute-barred, highlighting the desirability of waiting until pleadings are closed before bringing a Rule 21.01(1)(a) motion on limitation issues.

The minor respondent sued the appellant for damages resulting from a dog bite.

The appellant sought leave to issue a third party claim against the respondent's mother for negligent supervision, eleven months after the statement of defence was filed.

The motion judge dismissed the motion, finding prejudice to the respondent and a lack of merit in the proposed claim.

The Court of Appeal upheld the decision, clarifying that the test for assessing the merits of a proposed third party claim out of time is the test for an extension of time, not the strict pleadings test under Rule 21.

The appeal was dismissed.

The appeal concerns who is liable for outstanding municipal taxes in a receiver's sale of assets with an approval and vesting order (AVO).

The motion judge found the purchaser liable because the taxes were not yet due at closing.

The Court of Appeal reversed, holding that under s. 307(3) of the Municipal Act, liability for the taxes arose on January 1 of the relevant taxation years, prior to closing.

Therefore, the liability remained with the vendor (the receiver) and was vested out of the purchased assets by the AVO.

The appellant software company appealed the dismissal of its claim that the respondent breached a distribution agreement by copying the features and functionality of its software to create a derivative work.

The Court of Appeal upheld the trial judge's factual findings that no copying occurred and that the respondent's use of a marketing presentation was authorized.

The Court also found no error in the trial judge's evidentiary rulings, including the exclusion of an omnibus package of documents under the party admissions exception to the hearsay rule and the exclusion of an expert report that lacked necessity.

The appeal was dismissed.

The appellant appealed a trial judge's damages award arising from a failed agreement of purchase and sale for a new home, arguing that the cost of certain upgrades should have been included.

The respondent cross-appealed on the issues of mitigation and costs.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding no error in the trial judge's treatment of the upgrades as a deposit.

The Court also dismissed the cross-appeal on mitigation.

However, the Court allowed the cross-appeal on costs, finding that the trial judge erred by refusing to consider the costs consequences of Rule 76.13.

Because the appellant recovered less than $100,000 and it was unreasonable to continue the action under the ordinary procedure, the appellant was denied its costs of the action.

The appellant tenant operated a duty-free store that suffered a material adverse effect due to COVID-19 border closures.

The tenant invoked a lease provision requiring the landlord to consult and discuss the impact of regulatory changes.

After negotiations failed, the tenant sought a judicially imposed rent abatement.

The motion judge dismissed the request, finding the provision was an agreement to agree, and the landlord had negotiated in good faith.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, affirming that pre-contractual subjective intentions were inadmissible, the court could not impose a rent adjustment without a contractual mechanism, and the landlord was entitled to pursue its economic self-interest during negotiations.

The appellants, representing a class of Ontario Shoppers Drug Mart franchisees, appealed a summary judgment decision regarding their entitlement to Professional Allowances paid by generic drug manufacturers.

The Court of Appeal upheld the motion judge's findings that Shoppers breached the 2002 franchise agreement by retaining the allowances, which constituted 'revenue', but did not breach the 2010 agreement, which explicitly allowed Shoppers to retain such concessions.

The Court also upheld the application of a rolling limitation period and the refusal to award aggregate damages due to the idiosyncratic nature of the profit-sharing model.

However, the Court allowed the appeal regarding the quantification of damages, finding that Shoppers breached its duty of good faith by arbitrarily allocating $129 million as out-of-province rebates to avoid sharing the funds with Ontario franchisees, bringing the total Professional Allowances received to $1.084 billion.

The appellants, several local governments, appealed the dismissal of their application for declarations and injunctions against Canadian National Railway Company (CN) regarding the construction of an intermodal hub.

The appellants sought to compel CN to comply with over 65 provincial and municipal laws.

The application judge dismissed the application, finding that the majority of the claims lacked a factual foundation and were premature, and that the three specific bylaws at issue impaired the core of the federal railway undertaking under the doctrine of interjurisdictional immunity.

The Court of Appeal upheld the decision, confirming that the construction and operation of the intermodal hub is a vital part of a federal railway undertaking and that the municipal bylaws requiring official plan amendments impaired this core federal power.

The appeal and the application for leave to appeal costs were dismissed.

The Crown appealed a 12-month sentence imposed on a young Black first-time offender for possession of a loaded handgun.

The trial judge had significantly reduced the sentence based on social context evidence of systemic anti-Black racism.

The Court of Appeal held that while social context evidence of anti-Black racism is highly relevant to assessing an offender's moral blameworthiness and rehabilitative prospects, it does not reduce the objective gravity or seriousness of the offence.

The Court also held that the Gladue framework for Indigenous offenders does not apply directly to Black offenders, though it can inform the approach.

The appeal was allowed and the sentence varied to two years less a day, but permanently stayed due to the passage of time.