Steven Nicoletta

The defendants moved for an order to strike the action brought by the plaintiffs and for partial indemnity costs.

The grounds for the motion were the plaintiffs' failure to comply with a prior court order requiring them to appoint new counsel or serve a notice of intention to represent themselves, and their failure to set down the matter for trial within six months after the close of pleadings.

The plaintiffs failed to file a response or attend court.

The court granted the defendants' motion, striking the action and dismissing it for delay, and awarded partial indemnity costs to the defendants.

The plaintiff, a teacher, sued his employer school board and several co-workers for damages arising from alleged workplace discrimination and defamatory tweets.

The defendants brought a motion to dismiss the action for lack of jurisdiction, arguing the dispute fell within the exclusive jurisdiction of a labour arbitrator under the collective agreement.

Applying the Weber test, the court found that the essential character of the dispute concerned the employer's obligation to provide a harassment-free workplace and the application of workplace policies, which were inferentially incorporated into the collective agreement.

The motion was granted and the action was dismissed.

The plaintiffs (purchasers in a real estate transaction) brought a motion to stay or dismiss a separate action commenced by the defendant real estate brokerage for unpaid commission, arguing it should have been brought as a counterclaim and was an abuse of process.

The defendant brokerage brought a cross-motion to transfer the plaintiffs' action from Toronto to Oshawa, where multiple related actions were already pending.

The court dismissed the plaintiffs' motion, finding it was not an abuse of process for the brokerage to commence a separate action given its dual role as plaintiff and defendant with separate counsel.

The court granted the cross-motion to transfer the Toronto action to Oshawa, noting the property, witnesses, and related proceedings were all located in the Oshawa area.

The defendants brought a motion to dismiss the plaintiffs' action for lack of jurisdiction.

The plaintiff, a teacher, alleged that her principal sexually harassed and assaulted her, and that the school board reprised against her.

The plaintiff's union had declined to pursue a grievance on her behalf due to the passage of time.

The court applied the Weber test and held that the essential character of the dispute was workplace-related and fell within the exclusive jurisdiction of a labour arbitrator under the collective agreement.

The court found no 'remedial gap' that would grant it jurisdiction simply because the union chose not to pursue the grievance.

The motion was granted and the action was dismissed.