Patrick J. Monahan

The Court of Appeal for Ontario dismissed the appeal from the denial of certification of a class action alleging systemic negligence in the use of seclusion and restraint at a forensic psychiatric hospital.

The court found that the motion judge did not err in concluding that the claims lacked commonality, as the alleged wrongdoing could only be determined on an individual basis.

The court also upheld the dismissal of claims against individual hospital administrators and affirmed the costs award, finding no reversible error in the motion judge’s analysis.

The appellant, Sami Kazi, appealed the October 24, 2024 disposition of the Ontario Review Board, which found him Not Criminally Responsible and ordered his detention with conditions.

After a subsequent Board hearing in January 2025 resulted in a new disposition, the Court of Appeal held that the appeal was moot, as the original disposition was no longer operative.

The court found no live controversy remained and declined to exercise discretion to hear the appeal, noting the issues were fact-specific and overtaken by events.

The appellant, S.M., appealed his conviction for sexual assault, arguing that the trial judge misapprehended material evidence and failed to provide sufficient reasons regarding the complainant’s credibility and motive to fabricate.

The Court of Appeal found no error in the trial judge’s assessment of the evidence or in her reasons, holding that the findings were open to her on the record and that the reasons were sufficient for appellate review.

The appeal was dismissed.

The appellant, Jomal Brown, appealed his convictions for possession of various illicit drugs for the purpose of trafficking, possession of proceeds of trafficking, and several firearm offences.

The appeal also challenged the application judge’s dismissal of his Charter application, which was denied on the basis that Brown had no reasonable expectation of privacy in the unit where the items were seized.

During appeal preparation, Crown counsel identified a trial fairness issue: the Crown had taken inconsistent positions regarding Brown’s residence in the unit at different stages of the proceedings.

With the consent of both parties, the Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, set aside the convictions and Charter ruling, and ordered a new trial on all issues.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario granted a motion to quash an appeal in a family law matter concerning a motion for a sealing order and publication ban to protect a child’s privacy.

The court held that the order under appeal was interlocutory, not final, and thus any appeal lay to the Divisional Court with leave, not to the Court of Appeal.

The decision reviews the distinction between interlocutory and final orders, emphasizing that privacy and sealing orders are generally collateral to the main issues in family law proceedings and do not determine substantive rights.

The court also declined to reconstitute itself as the Divisional Court.

The applicant, Melissa Hart, sought to reopen her application for leave to appeal a conviction for driving with a blood alcohol content over 80mg per 100ml.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario dismissed her application, finding that the Charter arguments and evidence she sought to introduce were neither fresh nor novel, as they had already been considered in previous proceedings.

The court held that there was no merit to the application and declined to consider its jurisdiction to reopen a decision not to reopen a dismissal of a leave to appeal application.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario allowed J.C.'s appeal in part, setting aside his designation as a dangerous offender and substituting a designation as a long-term offender, while upholding the determinate sentence and 10-year long-term supervision order (LTSO).

The court found that the trial judge erred by failing to consider intractability at the designation stage, as required by R. v. Boutilier, but found no reviewable error in the trial judge’s findings regarding the patterns of behaviour or assessment of the criminal record.

The appellant, Haytham Elzayat, moved under section 7(5) of the Courts of Justice Act to review an order of Roberts J.A. denying his request to include a transcript of oral argument from the court below in his appeal materials.

The Court of Appeal found no error in the exercise of discretion by Roberts J.A., holding that the transcript was not necessary or relevant for the fair hearing of the appeal.

The motion was dismissed, and costs of $3,500 were awarded to the respondent.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario dismissed Manpreet Dhaliwal’s appeal from the trial decision and costs order in her family and civil actions against Hardeep Singh Nijher and his family.

The court found no legal or factual errors in the trial judge’s findings regarding property equalization, spousal support, and damages for intentional infliction of mental distress.

The trial judge’s credibility findings against the appellant were upheld, and the court found no evidence of bias or procedural unfairness.

Leave to appeal the costs order was also denied.

The appellant, Zaafir Ahmed Munir, appealed a decision upholding the Town of Milton’s short-term rental bylaw and related enforcement actions.

The Court of Appeal found that the Town had authority under the Municipal Act to enact the bylaw, that there was no conflict with the Residential Tenancies Act, and that the appellant’s Charter rights were not infringed.

The appeal was dismissed, and costs were awarded to the respondents.

The appellant, Matthew Desouza, appealed his seven-year sentence for human trafficking, assault with a weapon, and failing to comply with a release order.

He argued that the sentencing judge failed to properly apply Gladue principles and that the sentence was unfit.

The Court of Appeal found that the sentencing judge gave appropriate consideration to Gladue factors, the seriousness of the offence, and mitigating factors such as remorse and a guilty plea.

The appeal was dismissed.

The appellant, Michael Westcott, appealed his sentence on the basis that it significantly exceeded the sentence requested by the Crown.

The Court of Appeal found that the sentencing judge erred by failing to provide adequate notice that she was considering a sentence higher than the Crown’s request, as required by R. v. Nahanee.

However, the Court found no error in principle in the judge’s application of the totality principle or her consideration of harsh pretrial custody conditions.

The appeal was dismissed, with the Court clarifying the distinction between joint submissions and contested sentencing hearings.

The appellant, Emmanuel Pinard, appealed his conviction for possession of a firearm knowing it to be unauthorized.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario considered arguments regarding the trial judge’s instructions to the jury, the adequacy of assistance to the self-represented appellant, and the admission of evidence of prior discreditable conduct.

The court found no error in the trial judge’s instructions or approach, and dismissed the conviction appeal, also denying leave to appeal the sentence.

The appellant, Leslie Arthur Swan, appealed the dismissal of his claim for conspiracy and defamation against several respondents, including a condominium corporation, its manager, and legal counsel.

The motion judge dismissed the action as frivolous, vexatious, and an abuse of process under rule 2.1.01 of the Rules of Civil Procedure, finding it was a collateral attack on earlier proceedings and statute-barred.

The Court of Appeal upheld the motion judge’s decision, finding no error and dismissing the appeal with costs to the respondents.

The appellant, David Bynoe, appealed his sentence for firearms offences, assault, and uttering threats.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario granted leave to appeal but dismissed the sentence appeal, finding no error in the trial judge’s reasoning or exercise of discretion.

The court addressed arguments regarding the use of lack of acceptance of responsibility as an aggravating factor, the failure to allow the appellant to speak before sentencing, and the reasonableness of the custodial sentence for assault and uttering threats.

The court found that while the appellant should have been allowed to address the court, there was no basis to conclude this would have affected the sentence.

The appellant, Charles Kennedy, appealed his conviction for unlawful confinement, assault causing bodily harm, and sexual assault.

He sought the appointment of counsel under section 684 of the Criminal Code.

The Court of Appeal reviewed the trial judge’s findings and the legal standards for appointing counsel, ultimately dismissing the application on the basis that the grounds of appeal did not surpass the "arguability" threshold and were not legally complex enough to require appointed counsel.

The appellant, Lawrence Allen Thompson, appealed his 10-year sentence for sexual interference, kidnapping, and abduction of a four-year-old child.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario found no error in the sentencing judge’s assessment of aggravating and mitigating factors, the fitness of the sentence, or the calculation of pre-trial credit.

The appeal was dismissed.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario dismissed Arista Homes Limited's appeal from a summary judgment awarding Ellen De Castro eight months’ salary in lieu of notice following her dismissal without cause.

The court upheld the motion judge’s finding that the employment contract’s for-cause termination clause was unenforceable because it contravened the Employment Standards Act, 2000 by permitting termination without notice in circumstances broader than the statute allows.

The court emphasized the remedial purpose of the ESA and the interpretive principle that ambiguities in employment contracts are to be resolved in favour of employees.

The appellant, D.R., appealed convictions for sexual assault, assault with a weapon, assault, and uttering threats, as well as the imposition of a lifetime SOIRA order.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the conviction appeal, finding no error in the trial judge’s reasoning or credibility assessments.

The court granted leave to appeal the sentence but dismissed the sentence appeal, holding that the evidentiary record was insufficient to substitute a 20-year SOIRA order for the lifetime order.

The appellant retains the right to apply to the Superior Court to vary the SOIRA order’s length.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario dismissed both the conviction and sentence appeals of James Keena, who was convicted of sexual interference and sexual assault involving a complainant aged 14-15.

The court found that the trial judge correctly applied the law regarding the accused’s failure to take all reasonable steps to ascertain the complainant’s age and was justified in finding recklessness.

The sentence of five years’ imprisonment was found to be within the appropriate range, considering aggravating and mitigating factors.

The court rejected the argument that the complainant’s participation was a mitigating factor.