Roger H. Chown

The plaintiff's insurance policy for a rental property was cancelled in 2007 due to non-payment.

A fire occurred in 2015, and the insurer denied the claim.

The plaintiff sued for negligence, alleging failure to notify him of the policy cancellation or non-renewal.

The defendant insurer brought a motion for summary judgment.

The court found the plaintiff's credibility questionable and the insurer's evidence reliable, concluding that the plaintiff was aware of the policy termination.

The motion for summary judgment was granted, and the plaintiff's action was dismissed.

This endorsement addresses the costs arising from a two-week trial where the Plaintiff and Third Party were entirely successful.

The court awarded substantial indemnity costs for the trial, citing the Defendants' unreasonable litigation conduct and the Garber Defendants' rejection of a generous Rule 49 offer to settle.

Additionally, costs thrown away due to an adjournment caused by Ms. Garber's ill health were awarded against the Garber Defendants, though reduced from the amount claimed.

The decision also clarifies that the Costs Subcommittee's recommended rates for Rule 57 are outdated and discusses the limited relevance of a litigant's ability to pay costs without sufficient evidence.

During a trial for nuisance, the defendants sought to introduce evidence of the plaintiff's alleged retaliatory conduct (e.g., loud music, smoke) to mitigate punitive damages.

The court ruled this evidence inadmissible, finding no causal connection between the plaintiff's post-nuisance conduct and the defendants' initial actionable conduct (building a dock) or their failure to rectify it.

The court emphasized that for such evidence to be relevant to punitive damages, it must have provoked the defendant's actionable conduct, and any defense based on the plaintiff's conduct influencing the failure to rectify must be pleaded.

The defendant Canadian Hydro Developers (CHD) brought a motion to enforce Minutes of Settlement and sought a declaration on the property valuation date.

The plaintiff, Paul Thompson, opposed, arguing misapprehension of facts and that his former counsel acted without instructions regarding the valuation date.

The court enforced the main settlement but exercised its discretion to set aside counsel's agreement on the June 2014 valuation date, finding it unreasonable and entered into without the plaintiff's instructions, leading to clear injustice.

The valuation date was determined to be the date appraisals are conducted.

The appellants appealed the dismissal of their negligence action on summary judgment motions brought by the respondents.

The plaintiff was assaulted after exiting a chartered bus at a plaza in Barrie, sustaining a serious head injury.

The respondents operated a bar with a transportation and security system designed to prevent violence.

The motions judge found the case suitable for summary judgment and held that the respondents met the applicable standard of care.

The Court of Appeal found that the motions judge failed to properly articulate and apply the standard of care, effectively treating the plaintiff's contributory negligence as a bar to the claim.

The court held that the respondents owed a duty not to place the plaintiff in a position where foreseeable injury could occur, and that a trial was necessary to properly assess the standard of care and causation.

The defendants First Student Canada, David Ribble, 1853780 Ontario Inc. o/a Kee to Bala, and Ryan Zaroski sought summary judgment to dismiss the plaintiffs' claim for damages arising from an assault on Ryan Turcotte.

The assault occurred in a parking lot after Turcotte disembarked from a chartered bus service provided by the defendants.

The plaintiffs alleged negligence under the Occupiers’ Liability Act, Liquor Licence Act, and general negligence.

The court found no evidence that the defendants failed in their duty of care regarding premises safety, bus security, or intoxication monitoring.

The court also rejected allegations that the defendants should have diverted the bus, prevented Turcotte or the assailants from leaving, or provided more explicit warnings, concluding that Turcotte was aware of the potential danger.

The motion for summary judgment was granted, dismissing the action against the moving defendants.