Spencer Ball

The plaintiff commercial tenant sought an interlocutory injunction to restrain the defendant landlord from terminating its lease.

The plaintiff had failed to provide written notice of renewal on time and had sublet the premises without consent.

The court applied the RJR-MacDonald test and found no serious issue to be tried, as the plaintiff had not made diligent efforts to comply with the lease terms, precluding relief from forfeiture.

Furthermore, the plaintiff failed to establish irreparable harm, as the alleged losses would be suffered by the subtenant, not the plaintiff.

The motion for an interlocutory injunction was dismissed.

The applicant, the surviving spouse and residuary beneficiary of the deceased's estate, applied for the return of $125,000 transferred by the deceased to her son and daughter-in-law shortly before her death.

The court found that the $35,000 cheque to the daughter-in-law was a valid gift, as hearsay evidence of the deceased's intention was admissible and corroborated, rebutting the presumptions of resulting trust and undue influence.

However, the $90,000 cheque to the son was not proven to be a gift, as the son's evidence lacked corroboration and contained inconsistencies.

The son was ordered to return the $90,000 to the estate.

The plaintiff brought a motion to strike the defendant's statement of defence and counterclaim, which contained allegations of deceit, intimidation, and bad faith bargaining.

The defendant subsequently brought a motion to amend the pleadings.

The substantive issues were resolved on consent, leaving only the issue of costs.

The court found that the defendant's original pleading was flawed and that the plaintiff was justified in challenging it, but criticized both counsel for failing to resolve the matter without court intervention.

Applying principles of proportionality, the court awarded the plaintiff fixed costs of $6,000, significantly reducing the amount claimed.