Sean Grassie

Costs endorsement following a successful motion by the plaintiff law firm regarding documentary production obligations.

The plaintiff sought substantial indemnity costs of $12,694, while the defendant argued $5,000 was reasonable given the novelty of the privilege issues.

The court found the defendant's pre-litigation conduct reprehensible, including depositing client funds into a personal account, soliciting cash payments, and making disparaging remarks about clients.

The defendant's blanket refusal to produce documents under the guise of solicitor-client privilege, despite the plaintiff's practical attempts to resolve the matter, further warranted elevated costs.

Costs were awarded on a substantial indemnity basis in the full amount of $12,694.

Costs endorsement following the appeal reasons reported at 2025 ONCA 861.

The respondents on appeal were the more successful parties, having succeeded entirely on one issue and partially on the second, where the court substituted a temporary stay for the motion judge's dismissal.

The court discounted both the motion judge's costs award and the agreed appeal costs by 25% to reflect the divided success, resulting in costs of $18,750 for both the motion and the appeal, inclusive of disbursements and HST.

The decision concerns an application by Sheetza McGarry to appoint an interim Estate Trustee and obtain directions regarding the validity of a purported 2016 will and irrevocable life insurance beneficiary designations in the estate of Brian William McGarry.

The court reviews the suspicious circumstances surrounding the will and insurance changes, the renunciation of the named executors, and the positions of interested parties and non-parties.

The court refuses to dismiss the application, finds the applicant has met the evidentiary threshold to challenge the will, and appoints neutral third parties as Estate Trustees During Litigation (ETDLs).

Directions are given for the administration of the estate and the production of legal files.

The court considered the appropriate costs order following an application in which the applicant, Kristine McGinn, obtained injunctive relief against the respondents, including Stephen Bleeker and Assurance Home Care.

The court determined that costs should be payable forthwith on a partial indemnity basis, rejecting the applicant’s request for substantial indemnity costs and her request that costs be awarded against Mr. Bleeker personally.

The court fixed costs at $47,769.39, inclusive of fees, disbursements, and HST, to be paid within 30 days.

The applicant, Kristine McGinn, sought an interim injunction to restore her status as an employee, officer, and director of Assurance Home Care Inc., and to refer her claims against the respondents to arbitration.

The respondent, Stephen Bleeker, had unilaterally terminated McGinn's employment and sought to remove her from the board, revoking her access to company resources.

The court found it had jurisdiction to grant injunctive relief in aid of arbitration and determined the injunction sought was prohibitive.

Applying the RJR-MacDonald test, the court found a serious issue to be tried regarding Bleeker's authority to terminate McGinn unilaterally, and that McGinn would suffer irreparable harm if the injunction was not granted, as it would diminish the prospect of a shotgun/buy-sell order remedy.

The balance of convenience favoured preserving the status quo prior to the alleged breach.

The applicant, an 86-year-old long-serving volunteer Scouter, was denied renewal of his volunteer status by Scouts Canada based on alleged safety concerns and resistance to program adaptation.

The applicant brought an application seeking to have the court intervene, arguing that Scouts Canada failed to follow its own disciplinary and performance management policies.

The court found that the relationship between the volunteer and the organization was contractual in nature, giving the court jurisdiction to intervene.

The court concluded that the allegations of misconduct were unfounded and that Scouts Canada breached its duty of procedural fairness by failing to follow its policies.

The court granted declaratory relief, a mandatory order for the processing of any future applications by the applicant, and substantial indemnity costs.

This appeal concerned the interpretation of two easements: a 15-foot wide right-of-way for ingress and egress, and a right-of-access to a well.

The appellants (servient tenement owners) sought declarations that the right-of-way did not include vehicular turnaround activity and that the well access was null and void.

The respondents (dominant tenement owners) sought declarations affirming their rights, an injunction against obstructions, and damages.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, upholding the application judge's findings that the right-of-way included the turnaround area based on latent ambiguity and ancillary rights, and that the right-of-access to the well had not been extinguished.

CBC/Radio-Canada appealed a ruling that required the production of journalistic records related to a key Crown witness (X.X.) in a sexual assault case.

The trial judge inferred that X.X. was likely an unnamed journalistic source and, applying section 39.1 of the Canada Evidence Act, ordered the records' production for a pre-trial third-party records application.

The appeal court upheld the trial judge's decision, finding no error in the inference or the application of the statutory test for overriding journalistic source privilege.

The court emphasized deference to the trial judge's discretion and dismissed the appeal.

A sealing order for appeal materials was granted, but a non-communication order was denied.