Peter J. Osborne

In the CCAA proceedings of Laurentian University, the applicant sought an order regarding a Compensation Claims Process.

On consent, the court deferred relief related to Third Party RHBP Claims to a subsequent hearing, ordering that the deadlines and procedures in the Compensation Claims Process Order would not apply to those claims at this time.

The remaining unopposed relief was granted.

Laurentian University brought a motion within its CCAA proceedings seeking the appointment of a Chief Redevelopment Officer, an increase in the fee cap for the Board of Governors' independent counsel, and approval of a claims process.

The court approved the appointment of the CRO and the fee increase.

Regarding the claims process, TD Bank proposed amendments to require consultation on claims over $5 million.

Balancing the need for efficiency with creditor involvement, the court modified the claims process to establish an 'Inspector Group' to authorize the compromise of material claims, drawing on principles from the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act.

In an ongoing estate dispute between a widow and her children, the applicant widow brought a motion to add two corporate parties, admit a late affidavit regarding her health, substitute written interrogatories for oral cross-examination, and determine the scope of cross-examination.

The court added the corporate parties, finding one to be a necessary party.

The court admitted the late affidavit but excluded the attached medical reports as inadmissible hearsay.

The court declined to dispense with oral cross-examination, finding insufficient evidence of serious harm, but ordered specific accommodations for the 93-year-old applicant.

Finally, the court limited the scope of cross-examination to the three issues previously deemed urgent to conserve judicial resources.

The plaintiff brought a motion to enforce its contractual rights following a $5 million default on bearer bonds issued for a renewable energy project in Poland.

The plaintiff sought to terminate the Administration Agreement and assume the role of Administrator of the Trust.

The court found that final relief could not be granted on an interlocutory motion due to credibility issues requiring a trial.

However, the court granted a temporary mandatory injunction allowing the plaintiff to assume the Administrator's duties pending trial, finding a strong prima facie case of default, irreparable harm, and a balance of convenience favoring the plaintiff.

This is a case management endorsement providing procedural directions for an appeal from an interlocutory order.

The endorsement sets out the schedule for the appeal hearing, which will be conducted as a video conference, and details requirements for electronic document submission, including formatting, hyperlinking authorities, and preparing compendiums.

It also reminds counsel to address costs in advance.

The appellants purchased railway land in Niagara Falls from Canadian National Railway Company (CN) in 2008, with CN taking back a mortgage.

The appellants defaulted and CN sued.

The appellants brought a third-party action against their solicitors (McMillan LLP, Philip Thompson, and Marssa Giahi) for negligence, claiming they failed to properly advise about a Director's order under the Environmental Protection Act registered on title.

The respondents obtained summary judgment dismissing the third-party claim.

The appellants appealed, arguing the motion judge erred in applying Rule 20 principles and that genuine issues for trial existed regarding the duty of care, knowledge of the Director's order, and causation.

The Court of Appeal upheld the summary judgment, finding no negligence claim against McMillan due to lack of involvement in the final transaction, and no duty to warn Thompson and Giahi given the "as is" agreement and client's explicit instructions not to investigate environmental concerns.

This endorsement addresses the costs arising from a successful summary judgment motion where the third parties (McMillan LLP, Philip Thompson, and Marssa Giahi) were granted judgment in a solicitors' negligence action brought by the defendants (Crosslink Bridge Corp. and Andrew Penuvchev).

The third parties sought substantial indemnity costs, citing complete success and a Rule 49 offer to settle.

The defendants opposed, raising access to justice concerns and disputing the reasonableness and proportionality of the hours claimed.

The court, applying Rule 57.01 factors and the principle of proportionality, found the time spent by counsel for the third parties to be disproportionate to the result.

Consequently, the court reduced McMillan LLP's requested costs from $209,897.73 to $140,000 and Philip Thompson and Marssa Giahi's requested costs from $256,604.64 to $110,000, inclusive of fees, disbursements, and HST, deeming these adjusted amounts reasonable in the circumstances.

The third-party solicitors McMillan LLP, Philip Thompson, and Marssa Giahi brought a motion for summary judgment to dismiss claims of negligence brought against them by defendants Crosslink Bridge Corp. and Andrew Penuvchev.

The defendants alleged the solicitors failed to warn them of environmental risks associated with purchasing contaminated railway lands.

The court found that the solicitors were not negligent, as their retainers were limited, the clients were sophisticated and had conducted their own due diligence, and the environmental disclosure documents were not provided to the solicitors.

Furthermore, the court found the third-party claims were barred by the expiration of the applicable limitation periods.

The motion for summary judgment was granted, and the claims against the third parties were dismissed.

The plaintiffs in a class action alleging a price-fixing conspiracy in the foreign exchange market moved for approval of six settlements totaling $51.5 million.

The court reviewed the settlements in light of the estimated range of total damages, the litigation risks, and the value of the settling defendants' cooperation.

Finding the settlements to be fair, reasonable, and in the best interests of the class, the court approved the settlements.

The appellant appealed a motion judge's decision that partially dismissed his summary judgment motion.

The motion judge dismissed the appellant's slander claim but refused to dismiss the respondent's sexual assault claim, finding no settlement had been reached and that the respondent's claim was not statute-barred under the Limitations Act, 2002.

The appellant argued the motion judge erred in finding no settlement occurred and that the Sexual Violence and Harassment Action Plan Act, 2016 amendments should not apply retroactively.

The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal in part, finding the motion judge made palpable and overriding errors of fact and misapplied the law regarding settlement.

However, the court declined to make its own findings on the settlement issue due to significant credibility disputes and directed the matter proceed to trial on all issues.

This is a costs endorsement following a successful application by Bloor Street Diner Limited.

The applicant sought costs of $154,223.35 on a partial indemnity basis, while the respondent proposed $87,011.24.

The court considered the importance of the application, the extensive material filed, cross-examinations, and the two-day argument.

Despite some duplication of effort by counsel and the straightforward nature of the commercial lease terms, the court awarded the applicant $120,000.00, inclusive of disbursements and taxes, finding it a fair and reasonable amount based on proportionality and reasonable expectations.

The defendant moved for summary judgment to dismiss the plaintiff's claims for sexual assault and slander.

The defendant argued the sexual assault claim was statute-barred and had been settled for $50,000, and that the slander claim lacked evidence and special damages.

The court dismissed the slander claim due to a lack of evidence and failure to prove special damages.

However, the court found no settlement had been reached as there was no meeting of the minds.

Furthermore, the sexual assault claim was not statute-barred because the plaintiff did not discover the claim until consulting a lawyer, the limitation period was suspended due to presumed incapacity, and recent legislative amendments eliminated the limitation period for sexual assault claims.

The plaintiffs, shareholders in several real estate corporations, sought leave to commence a derivative action and amended their statement of claim to add new causes of action following the discovery of a multi-million dollar fraud by a co-investor.

The defendants moved to strike the new claims and opposed the derivative action.

The court held that the motion for leave to commence a derivative action was statute-barred under the Limitations Act, 2002, applying the Supreme Court's reasoning in CIBC v. Green regarding the unavailability of nunc pro tunc orders to circumvent expired limitation periods.

The court also struck the new claims for breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and negligence as statute-barred, but allowed the unjust enrichment and oppression claims to proceed.

The plaintiffs brought a proposed class action against the directors, officers, and advisors of a Delaware-incorporated company for alleged misrepresentations and failures to disclose under Part XXIII.1 of the Securities Act.

The defendants brought motions to strike the claim for punitive damages, strike the claim against a former director for failing to disclose a reasonable cause of action, and stay the action against the foreign financial advisors on jurisdictional grounds.

The court granted all motions, striking the punitive damages claim as inconsistent with the statutory scheme, striking the claim against the former director without leave to amend, and permanently staying the action against the foreign advisors as the court lacked jurisdiction simpliciter.