Timothy John Carre

The court found for the plaintiff, Hossein Amini-Kouchesfahani, in his civil action against the Toronto Police Services Board for battery and breach of his Charter rights after he was forcibly removed from his taxi and taken to the ground by police.

The court held that the initial stop was lawful, but the subsequent use of force was excessive and unjustified.

The plaintiff was awarded general, aggravated, special, and punitive damages.

The plaintiff, Haytham Elzayat, brought a civil action against the Toronto Police Services Board for alleged misconduct arising from his arrests and charges for assault on October 17, 2016, and April 15, 2017.

The court found that the police officers involved acted reasonably and met the required standard of care in their investigations and arrests.

The court dismissed all claims, including those for negligent investigation, breach of Charter rights, and discrimination, and found no evidence to support the plaintiff’s allegations.

The court also addressed the limitation period and assessed damages that would have been awarded had the claim succeeded, ultimately awarding costs to the defendant.

Gemterra Developments Corporation sought a refund of $408,400 from the City of Toronto, alleging overpayment of park levies.

The central issue was the interpretation of "development site" under the City's Park Levy By-law, specifically whether Gemterra's two-phase residential project on a 1.3-hectare parcel constituted one or two development sites.

The levy rate was 10% for sites less than one hectare and 15% for sites between one and five hectares.

Gemterra argued that each phase, for which separate building permits were issued, should be treated as a distinct site, qualifying for the lower 10% rate.

The City contended it was a single development site.

The court dismissed Gemterra's application, finding that "development site" is a fact-based determination, and in this case, the two phases comprised a single development site, irrespective of phased construction or separate building permits.

The applicants appealed the Chief Building Official's decision to refuse a building permit for an already constructed 21-room building, which they labelled as a "single family dwelling" but was designed and previously operated as a hotel.

The court dismissed the appeal, finding that the CBO was entitled to look beyond the label and consider the building's design, layout, and prior use to determine its intended purpose.

The CBO's conclusion that the building contravened applicable zoning by-laws for a single-family dwelling was deemed reasonable and correct.

This motion concerned the certification of a class action arising from a fire at a self-storage facility.

The plaintiff sought to certify a class proceeding on behalf of tenants who lost property, claiming damages in contract, tort, and unjust enrichment.

The court certified the action, finding that four of the five certification requirements under the Class Proceedings Act, 1992 were met.

Most proposed common issues related to negligence, limitation of liability, assignment of leases, and punitive damages were certified, while issues regarding prejudgment interest and unjust enrichment for retained advance rental payments were not.

No costs were awarded due to the parties' cooperation and the substantial revision of issues.