Rahul Shastri

This costs endorsement follows the Court of Appeal for Ontario's decision to allow the respondent’s motion to quash the appeal.

The court reviewed written submissions on costs and ordered the appellants to pay the respondent $8,088.54 in partial indemnity costs.

The defendant, Wilco Contractors Superior Inc., brought a motion to transfer a breach of contract action commenced by Don Anderson Haulage Limited (DAHL) from Newmarket to Thunder Bay.

The court considered the nine factors under Rule 13.01.02(2)(b) of the Rules of Civil Procedure and found that the majority of the factors, including the location of the events, damages, and convenience of witnesses, favoured a transfer to Thunder Bay.

The motion was granted, and the action was ordered transferred.

Costs were awarded to the defendant on a partial indemnity basis, with written submissions on costs to follow.

The applicants, Steven Bulut and 1091369 Ontario Inc., sought leave to appeal an arbitral award granting Marko N. Bulut a 50% constructive trust interest in real property.

The court declined to grant leave, finding no error of law in the arbitrator’s application of the law of constructive trust, unjust enrichment, limitation periods, or issue estoppel/abuse of process.

The court also declined to recognize the award under s. 50 of the Arbitration Act at this time, as no application for such relief was before the court and certain matters remained outstanding before the arbitrator.

The applicant, Marian Elizabeth Breukelman, sought costs on a partial indemnity basis after successfully defending a motion by the respondent, Dario Antonio Miret, to remove her lawyers for an alleged conflict of interest.

The court, M.D. Faieta J., assessed the costs considering factors such as the applicant's success, the complexity and importance of the issues, the respondent's failure to make an offer to settle, and the reasonableness of the time claimed by multiple counsel.

The court found the motion complex and important, and that the respondent failed to meet his obligation to settle.

While acknowledging the use of multiple counsel, the court found the total time claimed excessive and adjusted the costs downward.

The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) sought the appointment of a receiver over the assets of Maxx Properties (No. 323) Ltd. and Blake Larsen, due to multiple defaults under credit and forbearance agreements.

The debtor admitted default but requested a brief extension, citing a pending transaction.

The court granted the receiver appointment, finding that the debtor had repeatedly defaulted on obligations, failed to comply with forbearance terms, and provided insufficient evidence of the proposed transaction's viability.

The court emphasized the erosion of RBC's security and the debtor's non-compliance.

The Canadian Western Bank (CWB) applied for the appointment of a receiver over the assets of 2563773 Ontario Inc. (the Respondent), a hotel property, due to a secured loan default.

The Respondent sought to dismiss or adjourn the application, citing a pending agreement for the sale of the property that would pay out the indebtedness.

The court applied the "just or convenient" test for receiver appointment under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and the Courts of Justice Act.

Despite the Respondent's efforts, the court found that the prolonged default, the Respondent's failure to comply with a forbearance agreement (specifically regarding priority payables like HST and property taxes), and the uncertainty surrounding the proposed sale agreement (due to inaccurate representations and refusal to secure a deposit) warranted the immediate appointment of a receiver.

The application was granted, and PricewaterhouseCoopers Inc. was appointed as receiver.

The applicant, Marion Breukelman, sought to consolidate two civil proceedings (a civil action and an employment action) into her ongoing family law application.

The court granted the motion for consolidation, finding that the proceedings shared common questions of fact and law, particularly regarding the beneficial ownership of shares in a family business (R. Avis Surveying Inc.).

The court emphasized that consolidation would promote judicial efficiency, save legal expenses for the parties, and, most importantly, avoid the risk of inconsistent judgments across the related proceedings.

Despite concerns raised by the respondent and other parties about inconvenience, the court determined that the balance of convenience favoured consolidation, noting that the Family Law Rules provide tools for efficient case management.

The plaintiff commenced an action against her husband's children and the lawyers who acted for him in prior divorce proceedings, alleging conspiracy, abuse of process, and other torts.

The defendants moved to strike or dismiss the claims under Rule 21.

The court dismissed the claims against the adverse lawyers, finding no duty of care was owed to the plaintiff.

The court also dismissed the tort claims for abuse of process, conspiracy, and intentional interference with economic relations as an abuse of process by relitigation, as they sought to undermine the final settlement reached in the divorce proceedings.

The defamation and intentional infliction of mental suffering claims were struck with leave to amend.

The plaintiff, a minority shareholder and employee of a closely held construction management company, brought an action for wrongful dismissal and oppression after a contentious meeting where the majority shareholders claimed he resigned.

The court found the plaintiff was terminated without cause, as his emotional outburst did not constitute a clear and unequivocal resignation.

The court also found the majority shareholders engaged in oppressive conduct by unilaterally removing him as a director, withholding his shareholder loan, and failing to value his shares upon termination.

To rectify the oppression, the court valued the plaintiff's shares at the subsequent fiscal year-end, awarding $440,100 for the shares, $100,000 for pay in lieu of notice, and $75,000 in punitive damages for the defendants' high-handed conduct.

The appellants (UDG) appealed a motion judge's decision to permanently stay their Ontario proceeding in favour of ongoing litigation in Singapore and Dubai.

UDG had commenced the Ontario action seeking declarations against the respondents (TAP), effectively advancing as claims the same allegations they made as defences in the foreign proceedings.

The motion judge found that a related loan involving Rutmet was distinct from UDG's loans and that UDG's Ontario action was an attempt to gain a jurisdictional advantage.

The Court of Appeal upheld the motion judge's decision, finding no error in her fact-finding, exercise of discretion, or analysis of attornment and forum selection clauses.

The appeal was dismissed, and the Ontario proceedings remained stayed.

The Plaintiffs (UDG) sought an anti-suit injunction to halt proceedings against them in Dubai and Singapore concerning an alleged outstanding debt and guarantees.

The Defendants (TAP) cross-moved to dismiss or stay the Ontario action for lack of jurisdiction or forum non conveniens, citing forum selection clauses.

The court denied the anti-suit injunction, finding UDG failed to meet the Amchem test, particularly by not pursuing stays in the foreign jurisdictions.

The court also found Ontario was not the natural forum, given the parties' residences, witness locations, and applicable foreign laws.

The Plaintiffs' Ontario action was permanently stayed.

This endorsement records that the parties have settled the matter, with judgment to be entered in favour of the plaintiffs against at least some of the defendants.

Counsel are tasked with finalizing the interest calculation and submitting a draft judgment for approval.

The court reconsidered its costs decision following a damages re-hearing, where both the plaintiff and defendants sought costs.

The plaintiff, Prolink Broker Network Inc., claimed partial indemnity costs, while the defendants, Rakesh (Rick) Jaitley, My Insurance Broker Corp., and My Insurance Broker Canada Corp., argued for no costs to the plaintiff and sought their own costs based on an offer to settle.

The court applied a flexible approach to reconsider its previous endorsement due to a factual error.

Ultimately, the court found that both parties had mixed success and neither achieved their desired outcome in the overall litigation.

Despite the plaintiff's limited success on liability and the defendants' expert evidence being largely accepted on damages, the court declined to award costs to either party, concluding that each should bear its own costs.

The plaintiffs in a wrongful dismissal action brought a motion to compel answers to a refused question from the defendant's examination for discovery.

The plaintiffs sought underlying financial source documents to test the defendant's unaudited financial statements, which were relevant to their claims for bonus shares and share valuation.

The Master granted the motion, finding the documents relevant to the pleadings and not disproportionate given the defendant's significant gross revenue, while excluding projections and forecasts for periods after the valuation date.

This endorsement from a case conference addresses the management of two intertwined proceedings: a family law application (divorce, spousal support, equalization, trust claims) and a guardianship proceeding.

The court prioritized the family law application, scheduling a combined settlement and trial management conference.

It also addressed disclosure issues, compliance with previous orders (costs, property listing), and clarified the procedural nature of prior decisions.

The court declined to set a hearing date for the guardianship application at this time.

This case is a re-hearing on damages following a Divisional Court decision that remitted the matter back to the trial judge for a proper valuation of the plaintiff's 25% share interest in the defendant company, My Insurance Brokerage (MIB), after a breach of contract.

The court assessed conflicting expert evidence on share valuation, utilizing both income/cash flow and market multiple methods.

The plaintiff's expert's opinion was approached with caution due to an undisclosed professional relationship and unrealistic assumptions regarding minority discount and the impact of the 2008-2009 financial crisis.

While generally preferring the defendant's expert's methodology, the court found an error in valuing MIB as a start-up and ordered an upward adjustment to the cash flow multiple.

The final fair market value of the shares was to be determined as the midpoint between the recalculated income/cash flow valuation and the market method valuation.

The applicant, Joanne Chuvalo, brought a motion for directions in a guardianship application concerning George Chuvalo.

She sought extensive disclosure of medical, financial, and legal records, and orders to revoke powers of attorney for property and personal care held by George's children, Mitchell and Vanessa Chuvalo.

The court narrowed the scope of disclosure, limiting medical records to periods surrounding the creation of the powers of attorney and dismissing most requests for financial and legal records as premature or disproportionate.

The primary issues were identified as the validity and potential revocation of the 2014 and 2016 powers of attorney.

Costs were reserved to the judge hearing the main guardianship application.

This endorsement addresses two motions and sets directions for a future case conference in two related proceedings: a family law application (FS-15-406705) and a guardianship proceeding (FS-17-21568).

The court reserved decision on the motions and outlined issues for the upcoming case conference, including the impact of the "deemed undertaking" rule on evidence and productions, and status reports on disclosure and mediation.

Counsel were directed to collaborate on a proposed order regarding the deemed undertaking rule.