Shane C. D’Souza

Joseph Pernica, litigation guardian for Ida Rubin, sought a case conference regarding his status amidst upcoming motions.

The endorsement addresses a purported motion by Sarah Werner to vary an order appointing Pernica as litigation guardian for Ida Rubin, arguing Pernica exceeded his mandate by obtaining Ida Rubin's banking records and challenging Ida Rubin's capacity.

The court declined to schedule Ms. Werner's motion, finding she lacked standing under Rules 59.06 and 7.06(1)(b).

The court affirmed Pernica's role as litigation guardian and provided specific directions for any future motion by Ida Rubin herself to remove the litigation guardian, emphasizing the need for transparency, personal affidavit, and attendance in open court for cross-examination due to the risk of abuse in ex parte proceedings.

The court also declined to stay the case, emphasizing the need for information sharing for mediation and a mechanism for fund distribution.

The Ontario College of Teachers brought professional misconduct allegations against the Member.

The Member, who resides in the United Kingdom, was properly served but chose not to attend the hearing.

The Discipline Committee proceeded in his absence and found him guilty of professional misconduct under multiple subsections of Ontario Regulation 437/97.

The Committee ordered the immediate revocation of the Member's Certificate of Qualification and Registration, with written reasons to follow.

Staff of the Ontario Securities Commission sought approval of a settlement agreement with the respondent following an inter-jurisdictional proceeding based on an SEC order.

The SEC had found that the respondent failed to disclose substantial perquisites and personal expense reimbursements in proxy statements.

The Commission approved the settlement, noting the respondent's cooperation and the terms already imposed on his registered firms, and ordered him to resign and be prohibited from acting as an officer or director of any Ontario reporting issuer for five years.

The member, a teacher, pleaded guilty to professional misconduct for failing to maintain appropriate professional boundaries and engaging in inappropriate physical contact with a student.

The member signed the student out of class, drove her home, took her out for coffee or lunch, and kissed her on the cheek.

The Discipline Committee accepted an agreed statement of facts and a joint submission on penalty.

The member was reprimanded, suspended for three months, and required to complete a course on boundary violations.

The Ontario College of Teachers brought a consent motion for an order requiring the Member to produce an investigation report and interview transcripts related to alleged misconduct in Nunavut.

The College had been unable to obtain the documents directly from the Nunavut Department of Education.

The Member consented to producing the documents, provided he was ordered to do so by the Discipline Committee to remain compliant with legal obligations from another proceeding.

The Committee granted the motion, finding it would promote a fair and effective hearing, assist in assessing the merits of the allegations, and serve the public interest without causing prejudice.

Staff of the Ontario Securities Commission applied for an inter-jurisdictional order against the respondent based on a settlement agreement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Staff elected to proceed by way of an expedited written hearing.

The Commissioner determined that an oral hearing was required to fully consider the issues, including the implications of the SEC's findings, the respondent's admission of those findings for specified purposes, and the potential for sanctions relating to registration that were not requested in the Statement of Allegations.

The Member pleaded guilty to professional misconduct for making inappropriate and verbally abusive comments to students, including calling them useless, immature, stupid, and telling a male student to 'grow a pair'.

The Discipline Committee accepted the joint submission on penalty, ordering a reprimand and requiring the Member to complete a course on appropriate communications and classroom management before returning to teaching.

The College of Teachers brought a motion to withdraw an allegation of sexual abuse against the member, presenting an Agreed Statement of Facts and Guilty Plea that did not include an admission to sexual abuse.

The Discipline Committee rejected the joint submission and denied the motion to withdraw the allegation, finding that the admitted facts—which included inappropriate touching and remarks of a sexual nature—met the statutory definition of sexual abuse.

The Committee concluded that accepting the agreement would bring the administration of the discipline process into disrepute and be contrary to the public interest.

The plaintiff brought a proposed class action for secondary market misrepresentation against the defendants under the Ontario Securities Act and common law.

The defendants brought motions to restrict the class to Canadians who purchased shares on the TSX, arguing that the Ontario court was forum non conveniens for Canadians who purchased on NASDAQ, and that American law should apply to those claims.

The court dismissed the motions, finding that the defendants failed to show that the U.S. was a clearly more appropriate forum, and that the statutory cause of action under the Ontario Securities Act applies extra-territorially to Canadian purchasers on foreign exchanges.

The member, a teacher, faced allegations of professional misconduct for engaging in inappropriate conduct and making inappropriate comments to students over several academic years.

The member pleaded guilty to the allegations, admitting to actions such as causing a student to fall, making inappropriate comments about jail and alcohol, leaving red marks on a student after restraining her, and refusing to allow a student to use the washroom.

The Discipline Committee accepted the joint submission on penalty, ordering a reprimand, a six-month suspension of the member's certificate, and the completion of a course on appropriate boundaries and anger management before returning to teaching.

The Member, a teacher, faced allegations of professional misconduct for verbally and psychologically abusing students, failing to maintain professional standards, and engaging in unprofessional conduct.

The Member admitted to the facts, which included using inappropriate teaching strategies, making disparaging comments, and physically interacting with students in ways that made them uncomfortable.

The Discipline Committee accepted the agreed statement of facts and found the Member guilty of professional misconduct.

The Committee accepted a joint submission on penalty, ordering a reprimand and requiring the Member to complete a course on anger management and appropriate language before returning to teaching.

The Member, a teacher, pleaded guilty to professional misconduct for engaging in boundary violations with a female student.

Despite previous warnings and a prior disciplinary finding for similar conduct, the Member engaged in unwanted conversations, invaded the student's personal space, and shared inappropriate personal details.

The Discipline Committee accepted a joint submission on penalty, ordering a reprimand, a three-month suspension of the Member's certificate, and the completion of coursework on professional boundaries and classroom management.

The Discipline Committee of the Ontario College of Teachers held a penalty hearing after finding the member guilty of professional misconduct.

The member had engaged in a pattern of verbally and physically abusive conduct toward students, inappropriately disciplined students by sending them into the hallway unsupervised, and acted unprofessionally and insubordinately toward her principal.

The member did not attend the penalty hearing.

The Committee ordered that the member receive a reprimand, serve a six-month suspension of her Certificate of Qualification and Registration, and successfully complete pre-approved coursework regarding anger management and appropriate boundaries before returning to a teaching position.

In a proposed national class action alleging price-fixing in the foreign exchange market, the plaintiffs obtained an ex parte subpoena in the United States under 28 U.S.C. §1782 to compel pre-certification discovery from a non-party, Bloomberg LP.

The defendants brought a motion to enjoin the plaintiffs from taking any steps in furtherance of the subpoena without authorization from the Ontario court.

The court granted the motion, finding that the plaintiffs had circumvented Ontario's rules and jurisprudence regarding the discovery of non-parties and pre-certification discovery in class actions.

The court held that it has jurisdiction to control its own process and regulate the examination of non-parties for an Ontario action.

The representative plaintiff in a class action sought costs following a successful second motion under s. 5(1)(a) of the Class Proceedings Act and a subsequent consent certification.

The court awarded the plaintiff partial indemnity costs of $31,089 for the contested motion.

For the balance of the certification motion, the court ordered a hybrid costs award because the defendants did not communicate their consent in a timely fashion, fixing costs at $65,235, with one-third payable forthwith and two-thirds payable in the cause.

The Ontario College of Teachers brought disciplinary proceedings against a secondary school teacher for poor evaluation and assessment practices, including failing to provide meaningful assessment opportunities, falsifying marks, and failing to give individualized feedback.

The Discipline Committee found the teacher guilty of professional misconduct, noting she failed to maintain the standards of the profession, breached the Education Act, and engaged in disgraceful, dishonourable, and unprofessional conduct.

The Committee ordered an oral reprimand, a one-month suspension of her teaching certificate, mandatory coursework on professional ethics and student assessment, and publication of the decision.

The appellant appealed a decision of the Discipline Committee of the Ontario College of Teachers, which found she made false reports of abuse against a fellow teacher and revoked her teaching certificate.

The Divisional Court applied a reasonableness standard of review and found no basis to interfere with the Committee's factual findings or credibility assessments.

The court also upheld the penalty of revocation, finding it fell within the range of reasonable outcomes given the serious nature of falsely accusing a colleague of abuse.

The appeal was dismissed with costs.

The defendants, a consortium of insurers, brought a motion to clarify TD Bank's discovery obligations regarding documents subject to solicitor-client, litigation, and settlement/mediation privilege.

TD Bank was seeking indemnity under fidelity policies for amounts paid to settle 19 underlying lawsuits related to a Ponzi scheme.

The court ruled that TD Bank had not implicitly waived solicitor-client privilege through its pleadings.

It also found that litigation privilege for documents created for the underlying litigation was not lost upon settlement, given the close connection to the current coverage dispute.

However, the court determined that TD Bank could not assert settlement privilege over documents related to the underlying settlements, as these were crucial for the insurers to assess the reasonableness and allocation of damages for coverage purposes.

The Ontario College of Teachers brought disciplinary proceedings against a member for alleged professional misconduct and incompetence involving physical and verbal abuse of students, inappropriate discipline, and yelling at staff and administrators.

The Discipline Committee found the member guilty of professional misconduct for pushing and grabbing students, yelling at students and staff, and sending students into the hallway without notifying the office.

The Committee admitted hearsay evidence from students and staff, finding it credible and consistent.

The allegations of psychological/emotional abuse and incompetence were dismissed due to insufficient evidence.

A penalty hearing was to be scheduled.

The applicant, a member of the Ontario College of Teachers, was found to have committed professional misconduct.

After his appeal to the Divisional Court was dismissed, he failed to seek leave to appeal to the Court of Appeal in time.

His motion for an extension of time was dismissed, and his subsequent motion to review that decision was dismissed by the Registrar for failure to file documents.

The applicant brought a motion to restore his review motion.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the motion, finding no prospect of success, a pattern of delay, and no merit in the underlying proposed appeal.