Paul Marshall

The appellants challenged an order striking their contempt motion without leave to amend.

The court held the motion judge made no legal or principled error, upheld the costs framework used below, and dismissed both merits and costs-related challenges.

The applicant sought to enforce an option to purchase agreement for a property or, alternatively, the return of a $25,000 down payment.

The respondent argued the option expired and the payment was forfeited.

The court found the option agreement had expired and was not renewed, and the respondent's failure to provide compliant rent receipts was not causally linked to the applicant's inability to secure financing.

However, the court granted relief from forfeiture for the $12,000 in monthly credits, finding it unconscionable for the respondent to retain this amount given it exceeded the contract's cap, but allowed the respondent to retain the initial $13,000 option fee.

The applicants initiated a proceeding by application seeking declarations and substantial damages related to an anaerobic digester, and subsequently moved to add a party and for injunctive relief to prevent the digester's reactivation.

The court found the application procedurally inappropriate and outside its jurisdiction under the Rules of Civil Procedure, particularly due to the presence of material facts in dispute and the complex nature of the claims (nuisance and negligence).

Consequently, the court converted the application into an action, directing the applicants to file a Statement of Claim, and denied the immediate injunctive relief on the basis that it was not available in an improperly commenced application.

The defendants, having successfully obtained a dismissal of the plaintiffs' action on limitation grounds, sought costs on a substantial indemnity basis.

The plaintiffs opposed, arguing the issues were not complex and that allegations of fraud were not adjudicated.

The court considered the complexity of the original claim, the significant amount claimed, the plaintiffs' pursuit of a statute-barred action despite early notice, and unsubstantiated allegations of fraud.

Applying Rule 57.01 factors, the court found that the plaintiffs' conduct warranted an award of costs higher than partial indemnity.

The defendants brought motions for summary judgment to dismiss the plaintiffs' action as statute-barred under the Limitations Act, 2002.

The plaintiffs had previously commenced an action in 2011 based on the same core facts, which was dismissed as abandoned.

The plaintiffs argued the limitation period was postponed due to fraudulent concealment, claiming they only discovered confirming evidence in 2013.

The court found the 2011 claim provided irrefutable evidence that the plaintiffs had discovered their claim by July 2011.

The court rejected the fraudulent concealment argument, granted summary judgment, and dismissed the action.

The plaintiff brought an action for malicious prosecution and negligent investigation against the police defendants after criminal charges against him were stayed by the Crown.

The defendants moved for summary judgment, arguing the action was statute-barred because it was commenced more than two years after the stay was entered.

The plaintiff argued the limitation period did not begin until the one-year period for the Crown to recommence the stayed charges had expired.

The court held that a Crown stay constitutes a favourable termination of proceedings and the limitation clock begins to run on the day the stay is entered.

The action was dismissed as statute-barred.

The plaintiff, a restaurant tenant, sued the landlord and its director for wrongful lease termination and damages.

The landlord counterclaimed for accelerated rent.

The court found the landlord unlawfully terminated the lease, awarding the tenant damages for lost business, deposit reimbursement, and duct cleaning costs.

The counterclaim was dismissed, and punitive damages and personal liability for the director were denied.

The plaintiff, Tarik Bouragba, brought a motion seeking leave to amend his Statement of Claim and lift a stay of proceedings previously ordered.

The defendants opposed the motion and brought cross-motions to prohibit the plaintiff's father, a non-lawyer, from representing him, and to stay the proceeding due to unpaid costs orders.

The court granted the cross-motion prohibiting the father from acting as legal representative.

The court dismissed the plaintiff's motion to amend the pleadings, finding the proposed amendments lacked material facts, were incomprehensible, and disclosed no reasonable cause of action.

The court ordered that all outstanding costs awards must be paid before the plaintiffs can bring any further motions.

The appellant, Julie Lawrence, appealed the order of the motion judge regarding the disposition of her late father's estate.

The central issue was whether a $50,000 TD line of credit taken out prior to the deceased's marriage to the respondent (the estate trustee and second wife) was a debt of the estate or secured against the matrimonial home.

The motion judge found the estate liable for the debt.

The appellant also alleged the motion judge demonstrated a reasonable apprehension of bias and improperly refused an adjournment.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding no palpable and overriding error in the factual findings, no reasonable apprehension of bias, and no improper exercise of discretion regarding the adjournment or costs award.

The appellant sought to set aside a decision by Justice Pardu refusing to extend the time to appeal a Superior Court decision.

Justice Pardu had found that the appellant demonstrated intention to appeal within the prescribed time and accepted his explanation for the delay, with no prejudice to the respondent.

However, she dismissed the motion on the sole ground that the grounds of appeal were devoid of merit.

The Court of Appeal upheld this decision, finding that the appellant's claims were directly related to his employment and fell within the exclusive jurisdiction of an arbitrator under the settlement agreement.

This costs endorsement addresses the costs arising from a motion by the City of Mississauga to amend its Statement of Defence and cross-motions by the plaintiff, Amanda Martin.

The City was entirely successful on its motion and substantially successful against the plaintiff's cross-motions.

The court considered the principles governing costs awards, including the five purposes of costs rules and the factors under Rule 57.01(1) of the Rules of Civil Procedure.

Despite the plaintiff's arguments for divided success and an offer to settle, the court found the City largely successful and awarded partial indemnity costs.

The court reduced the City's claimed costs, fixing them at $9,000, payable by the plaintiff within 90 days, noting the plaintiff's conduct contributed to the length and costs of the proceedings.

In a wrongful dismissal action, the City of Mississauga sought leave to amend its Statement of Defence to withdraw an allegation of just cause termination.

The Plaintiff opposed, arguing this constituted a withdrawal of admissions under Rule 51.05, and brought a cross-motion to compel production of an investigation report and permit discovery on the cause allegation.

The court granted the City's motion, finding that withdrawing a just cause allegation was an amendment under Rule 26.01, not a withdrawal of an admission.

The Plaintiff's cross-motion to compel production and discovery was largely dismissed as premature, but the City was ordered to provide its position on the report's production within 7 days and serve its Affidavit of Documents within 45 days.

The defendant sought costs following a motion that resulted in a consent order requiring the plaintiff to vacate a property, cooperate in its sale, and discharge a certificate of pending litigation.

The court considered the principles governing costs under Rule 57.01 of the Rules of Civil Procedure, including indemnification of successful litigants, encouragement of settlement, and discouragement of inappropriate conduct.

The court found that the defendant was compelled to bring the motion due to the plaintiff’s failure to communicate her willingness to vacate the property and cooperate with the sale, which caused delay and required an extension payment to the purchaser.

The defendant was therefore entitled to partial indemnity costs.

Costs were fixed at $7,350 plus HST and disbursements, payable from the plaintiff’s share of the net proceeds of sale.

The applicant trustee in bankruptcy sought a declaration of entitlement to settlement funds held by a solicitor.

The funds resulted from a fraudulent conveyance action commenced by a judgment creditor against the bankrupt and his wife after the assignment in bankruptcy, without leave of the court.

The court held that the action was subject to the stay of proceedings under s. 69.3 of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and that the settlement funds represented the proceeds of the bankrupt's interest in the property.

The trustee was granted the balance of the funds after accounting for a valid solicitor's lien.

A costs decision arising from a motion to change a separation agreement regarding child support and shared nanny expenses.

The respondent brought a motion to remove the applicant's counsel based on an alleged conflict of interest.

The motion was ultimately withdrawn after court attendances and preparation of materials.

The court awarded costs to the applicant for the wasted attendance at a case conference and the motion hearing, finding that the respondent's counsel unreasonably delayed raising procedural issues and failed to follow proper procedures to minimize costs and delay.