Paul S. Rouleau

The appellant purchasers appealed a judgment enforcing a limitation of liability clause in a pre-construction condominium agreement of purchase and sale that restricted their damages for the respondent developer's breach to the return of deposits with interest.

The appellants argued the clause was unconscionable, contrary to the consumer protections of the Tarion Addendum, and that the respondent should have brought it to their attention.

The Court of Appeal found no error, noting that the appellants were sophisticated purchasers represented by counsel who negotiated significant changes to the agreement, and that the Tercon analysis provided an effective safeguard against abuse of limitation clauses.

The appellant landlord appealed the dismissal of its application for a declaration that a long-term commercial lease had expired and for ancillary relief on the basis that the tenant was overholding.

The appellant argued that the tenant's failure to obtain timely Planning Act approval brought the lease to an end and precluded further renewals.

The Court of Appeal found no error in the application judge's analysis, holding that the tenant had continued to take appropriate steps to obtain the necessary approval and that the renewals were permitted subject to such approval.

Fresh evidence motions were dismissed as irrelevant to the appeal outcome, and leave to appeal the $225,000 costs award was denied.

The Crown appealed a stay of proceedings entered after a jury verdict of guilty on one count of sexual assault.

The application judge found a breach of the respondent's s. 11(b) Charter right to be tried within a reasonable time, concluding that net delay exceeded the 30-month Jordan ceiling.

On appeal, the Crown argued that the adjournment of the first trial to await the Supreme Court of Canada's decision in R. v. J.J. constituted a discrete exceptional event.

The Court of Appeal held that the application judge was not functus officio after the jury's verdict for purposes of a s. 11(b) application, distinguishing prior authorities.

The court further held that adjourning a trial to await guidance from a higher court in a different proceeding does not constitute a discrete exceptional event under the Jordan framework, but rather is a factor in assessing case complexity.

The appeal was dismissed.

The appellant appealed the dismissal of her anti-SLAPP motion regarding a $2.5 million defamation counterclaim brought by her former employer.

The motion judge had found the counterclaim had the hallmarks of a SLAPP and there was no evidence of a causal link between the appellant's expression and the respondents' alleged harm, but allowed the counterclaim to proceed because dismissing it would not meaningfully reduce the scope of the factual inquiry at trial.

The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, holding that under the Supreme Court's decision in Hansman, the weighing exercise must be tethered to the statutory text, which requires evidence of likely harm and causation.

The overlap between the claim and counterclaim was an impermissible consideration.

The counterclaim was dismissed, and the appellant was awarded $5,000 in statutory damages and costs.

An appeal concerning a non-publication order imposed under section 517 of the Criminal Code at a bail hearing.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario issued reasons for decision regarding the applicability and scope of the publication ban, which restricts the publication, broadcast, or transmission of evidence, information, representations, and reasons given at the bail hearing.

The appellants were charged with unlawfully damaging and/or destroying protected rattlesnake habitat contrary to the Endangered Species Act, 2007.

They brought a s. 11(b) Charter application for a stay of proceedings based on unreasonable delay, which was dismissed by the trial judge.

The appellants then sought certiorari and s. 24(1) Charter relief in Superior Court, arguing the trial judge failed to characterize certain disclosure as "obviously relevant" and failed to attribute all delay to the Crown.

The Superior Court dismissed both applications.

The Court of Appeal upheld the dismissal, finding no jurisdictional error and rejecting the argument that the degree of relevance of outstanding disclosure alleviates the defence's obligation to act diligently.

The appeal was dismissed.

The appellant appealed his conviction for sexual assault and the sentence imposed.

The conviction appeal raised two grounds: first, that the trial judge failed to address frailties in the complainant's evidence and material inconsistencies, and second, that the trial judge erred in her section 11(b) Charter analysis regarding defence delay.

The Court of Appeal found no error in the trial judge's credibility assessment or her apportionment of delay.

The appellant received a two-year custodial sentence for a serious sexual assault of a 13-year-old child.

The Court of Appeal dismissed both the conviction appeal and the sentence appeal, finding the sentence fit and appropriate.

Appeal from a summary judgment order finding the appellants liable for civil fraud in connection with a fraudulent warranty repair scheme.

The appellants, through Eaton Equipment Ltd., submitted falsified invoices and receipts to Canadian Tire Corporation for repairs that were never performed, resulting in losses exceeding $3.2 million.

The Court of Appeal upheld the summary judgment against all appellants except Carleigh Milburn, finding that the motion judge's reasoning regarding her knowledge of the fraud was insufficiently explained and contained an inferential gap.

The appeal was allowed in part as it relates to Carleigh Milburn, but dismissed as it relates to the other appellants.

The appellant purchased a condominium unit under an agreement of purchase and sale in a building that subsequently entered receivership.

The receiver sought to disclaim the purchase agreement to maximize asset recovery.

The appellant opposed the disclaimer, relying on a supplementary agreement with the developer and its president.

The motion judge found the supplementary agreement unenforceable due to an entire agreement clause in the subsequent purchase agreement and granted the disclaimer order.

The appellant appealed on three grounds: that the motion judge failed to apply the Tercon test for entire agreement clauses, failed to consider public policy, and erred in applying the disclaimer test regarding equities.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding the motion judge properly conducted the Tercon analysis, identified no overriding policy reason to override the contractual terms, and correctly applied the disclaimer test by considering all circumstances and concluding the equities did not support preferring the appellant's claim over other creditors.

The appellant was convicted of sexual assault and assault against his former wife.

He appealed on the narrow ground that the trial judge erred in refusing to allow the defence to pursue additional electronic messages during cross-examination of the complainant.

The trial judge required that any application for third-party disclosure of such messages be brought under s. 278.1 of the Criminal Code prior to trial, not mid-trial.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding that although the trial judge made some factual errors in his ruling, his ultimate decision to foreclose the mid-trial application was justified as a proper exercise of trial-management powers.

The appellant appealed his convictions for sexual assault and assault, challenging the trial judge's credibility assessments on multiple grounds: failure to consider the complainant's motive to fabricate, failure to address inconsistencies in testimony, failure to consider evidence of collusion and tainting between the complainant and her daughter, and erroneous assessment of the appellant's credibility.

The Court of Appeal found no errors in the trial judge's comprehensive credibility analysis and dismissed the appeal.

The appellant appealed an indeterminate sentence imposed following convictions for assault with a weapon, assault causing bodily harm, and carrying a concealed weapon.

The offences arose from the appellant's actions at the American consulate in Toronto, where she forced her way into the building and slashed a security guard with a box cutter.

The appellant argued the sentence was disproportionate given that she had never caused more than minor bodily harm and her violent offences were few and far between.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding the sentencing judge properly applied section 753.01(5) of the Criminal Code and that there was no reasonable expectation a determinate sentence would adequately protect the public.

The appellants appealed a jury verdict awarding the respondent over $1.5 million in damages arising from a motor vehicle accident.

The trial judge declined to put certain jury questions proposed by the appellants regarding causation and apportionment of damages between three successive motor vehicle accidents.

The appellants also challenged the trial judge's summary of evidence and her failure to instruct the jury to disregard expert evidence concerning past income loss.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding no error in the trial judge's approach to jury questions and instructions, and finding the jury's damage award was not plainly unreasonable.

La Cour d'appel de l'Ontario accueille l'appel de Y.S. contre sa déclaration de culpabilité pour inceste et agression sexuelle, et ordonne un nouveau procès.

L'arrêt porte sur l'insuffisance des motifs du juge du procès, qui n'a pas reconnu l'incidence des incohérences dans le témoignage de la plaignante, ni expliqué comment il a résolu ces contradictions.

La Cour conclut que ces erreurs constituent une erreur judiciaire justifiant l'annulation de la décision.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario considered whether the application judge erred in refusing to order the return of a child to the United Kingdom under the Hague Convention, on the basis that the left-behind parent had consented to or acquiesced in the child’s retention in Canada.

The Court found that the application judge conflated consent to future relocation with consent to the present retention, and that the evidence did not support a finding of consent or acquiescence to the wrongful retention.

The appeal was allowed and the return of the child to the U.K. was ordered, with undertakings imposed to protect the child’s best interests.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario dismissed the appeal by Gurnam Multani and Surjit Multani from the orders of Justice William S. Chalmers.

The appellants had signed forbearance agreements acknowledging the amounts owing under several loans from Dramel Limited.

The court found no error in the motion judge’s reliance on the forbearance agreements to confirm the amounts outstanding and held that the fees charged did not contravene the Interest Act.

The appeal was dismissed and costs were awarded to the respondent.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario allowed the appeal of Herbert and Jacqueline Watkins, setting aside the order dismissing their action and the associated costs order.

The motion judge had dismissed the action for failure to appoint counsel or deliver a notice of intent to act in person under r. 15.04(8) of the Rules of Civil Procedure and for delay under r. 24.01.

The Court of Appeal found that the removal order for the appellants' counsel was not effective, as it was not properly served, and that the motion judge erred in relying on r. 15.04(8).

The finding of inordinate and inexcusable delay was also found to be unreasonable due to confusion over representation.

Costs of the appeal were awarded to the appellants.

The appellants appealed an order giving directions regarding the distribution of funds remaining in trust after the sale of Driftwood Beach Park Limited's assets and the reimbursement of funds by certain appellants to the company.

The Court of Appeal found no basis to interfere with the motion judge’s determinations, including findings regarding the purchase and customization of a 2022 Honda, salary for James Kemp, and compensation for Ms. Kemp.

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

The Court of Appeal for Ontario dismissed the appellants’ appeal regarding damages for breach of an agreement of purchase and sale.

The trial judge’s reliance on established authority and acceptance of the respondent’s evidence was upheld.

The court found no error in the trial judge’s assessment of damages or credibility findings and awarded costs to the respondent.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario allowed the appeal from an order refusing to set aside a default judgment against Len’s Cove Marina Ltd. The court found that the motion judge erred in weighing the relevant factors for setting aside a default judgment, particularly by failing to recognize the presence of an arguable defence and a plausible explanation for the default.

The court emphasized that the interests of justice favoured a determination on the merits and set aside the default judgment, granting the Marina 30 days to deliver its statement of defence.