Spencer William Florindo Jones

The court granted summary judgment in favour of the Royal Bank of Canada against Nagina Wahab, who had guaranteed the debts of HI & DQ’s Foods Incorporated.

The court found that Wahab’s defences—including lack of independent legal advice, inability to understand English, and claims of acting under another’s direction—were unsupported by evidence.

The court held that the requirements for summary judgment were met, as there was no genuine issue requiring a trial.

Wahab was ordered to pay $300,000 plus interest and costs.

This appeal concerned the interpretation of an agreement of purchase and sale with an ambiguity regarding the calculation of the purchase price, which included Harmonized Sales Tax (HST).

The appellant vendor sought payment of remaining escrow funds.

The Court of Appeal found that the application judge erred by failing to properly interpret the agreement according to the principles of contractual interpretation and by relying on inadmissible expert appraisal evidence.

The appeal was allowed, the lower court's judgment and costs order were set aside, and the matter was remitted for a new hearing before a different judge.

The cross-appeal was not addressed.

This is an amended costs endorsement following a successful appeal by the respondents.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario awarded costs of the appeal to the respondents Burns Hubley LLP, Paul Gribilas, and J+W Foods Inc., inclusive of disbursements and interest, payable by the appellants.

The appellants, William Fehr Sr. and Dorothey Fehr, appealed a lower court order that permanently stayed their professional negligence action against Paul Gribilas (lawyer) and Burns Hubley LLP (accounting firm) based on a "no-claims-over" provision in a mutual release.

The release settled previous disputes, including the Fehrs' purported interest in J+W Foods Inc. The professional negligence action alleged that Gribilas and Burns Hubley LLP failed to protect the Fehrs' shareholdings.

The motions judge found the action to be an abuse of process because it contravened the no-claims-over clause, which prevented claims against parties who might seek contribution from the releasees (J+W Foods Inc., William Fehr Jr., Steven Trougakos).

The Court of Appeal dismissed the Fehrs' appeal, affirming that the motions judge had the inherent authority to stay the action as an abuse of process and that the defendants had a viable claim over, thereby triggering the no-claims-over provision.

The cross-appeal by Gribilas and Burns Hubley LLP was dismissed as moot.

The appellant, OZ Optics Ltd., appealed the dismissal of its action against two former general counsel, Diane Lesley Evans and Samuel Edgar Schwisberg, following a successful motion for summary judgment.

The action alleged breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, conspiracy, and negligent performance of service.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal from the bench, upholding the motion judge's findings that the claims were amenable to summary judgment, that Evans's actions did not constitute a breach or cause loss, and that Schwisberg's obligations under a holdover clause were absolved by the appellant's actions.

Costs were awarded to the respondents.

The Plaintiffs, Zenish Polyfilm LLP and Zenish Reclamation, moved for summary judgment against Alpha Marathon Film Extrusion Technologies Inc. for damages of US$693,750.00 due to breach of contract.

The court found that Alpha Marathon fundamentally breached the March 2018 contract by failing to deliver the agreed-upon system within a reasonable time and by failing to refund an excess payment.

The court rejected Alpha Marathon's arguments regarding credibility issues and contractual interpretation, finding that the documentary evidence was sufficient for adjudication.

The motion for summary judgment was granted, and Alpha Marathon was ordered to pay the full amount plus prejudgment interest.

This case involved two consolidated applications concerning a dispute over the allocation of Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) on the sale of a mixed-use property.

The Vendor (Miculinic Investment Corporation) sought the release of escrow funds withheld by the Purchaser (1000029174 Ontario Inc. and 2303515 Ontario Inc.), who had objected to the Vendor's HST allocation and sought a judicial declaration on the residential portion's value.

The court found that it was not its role to determine the HST amount, as the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) had already made an assessment.

The court granted the Vendor's application for the release of escrow funds, finding the Purchaser's allocation not unreasonable but upholding the Vendor's right to the funds based on the CRA's assessment and the terms of the Agreement of Purchase and Sale.

The Purchaser's cross-application was dismissed.

The Receiver of Bridging Finance Inc. sought court approval to terminate a sale and investment solicitation process (SISP) and proceed with an orderly liquidation ("Status Quo Option"), and to seal confidential appendices.

An unnamed unitholder opposed, requesting further consultation, a unitholder vote, and a new solicitation process for liquidation management.

The court denied the unitholder's adjournment request, finding no evidence to support it.

The court granted the Receiver's requests, deferring to the Receiver's business judgment, which was supported by Representative Counsel and a substantial majority of unitholders.

This is a costs decision following the permanent stay of the plaintiffs' main action and third-party proceedings.

The defendants, Paul Gribilas and Peter Gribilas, and the third party, J+W Foods Inc., sought costs as successful parties on dispositive motions.

The plaintiffs argued against costs, claiming a miscarriage of justice given the prior ruling that there were genuine issues for trial.

The court found no miscarriage of justice and applied the normal rule that costs follow the outcome, awarding partial indemnity costs to the Gribilas defendants and full indemnity costs to J+W Foods Inc. based on a contractual provision in a release.