Timothy John McGurrin

The applicant sought to terminate the respondents' occupancy of her home, arguing it was a familial arrangement and not a tenancy.

The respondents contended they had a valid tenancy under the Commercial Tenancies Act based on an unsigned agreement and part performance.

The court found the arrangement was familial, not a tenancy, and ordered the respondents to vacate the property, emphasizing that family arrangements can negate the intention to create a legal tenancy.

The plaintiff, a restaurant tenant, sued the landlord and its director for wrongful lease termination and damages.

The landlord counterclaimed for accelerated rent.

The court found the landlord unlawfully terminated the lease, awarding the tenant damages for lost business, deposit reimbursement, and duct cleaning costs.

The counterclaim was dismissed, and punitive damages and personal liability for the director were denied.

At a pre-trial hearing, the court struck the pleadings of Superior Fine Papers Inc., Reliance Holdings Limited, and Reliance Developments Corporation ("Superior et. al.") in two related actions due to their repeated failure to comply with court-ordered litigation timetables, deliver documents, make representatives available for examinations for discovery, and pay previously ordered costs.

The court also awarded further costs against Superior et. al. and set conditions for any motion to set aside the striking of pleadings, including the prior payment of all outstanding costs.

The court determined costs for two motions: a motion to transfer an action from Thunder Bay to Milton, and a cross-motion to stay an action in Milton based on a jurisdiction clause.

Both original motions were dismissed.

For the motion to stay, no costs were awarded, as the delays were attributed to the Property Owners' (Superior Fine Papers Inc., Reliance Holdings Limited, and Reliance Developments Corporation) conduct.

For the motion to transfer, the Property Owners were ordered to pay partial indemnity costs of $7,000 to Terrapure Environmental (Revolution Environmental Solutions LP c.o.b. as Terrapure Environmental and Revolution Environmental Solutions Acquisition GP Inc.), due to their unsuccessful motion and conduct that unnecessarily lengthened proceedings.

The plaintiff brought a motion under Rules 25.06, 25.10, and 25.11 of the Rules of Civil Procedure seeking to strike portions of a defendant’s Statement of Defence in a civil fraud action alleging misappropriation of corporate funds.

The court considered whether several pleaded allegations were irrelevant, speculative, inflammatory, or unsupported by material facts.

Some impugned paragraphs were allowed to remain because they were relevant to the defendant’s theory that he acted under instructions from a corporate officer.

However, other allegations containing speculation, unsupported assertions, or inflammatory descriptive terms were struck, though the defendant was granted leave to amend to properly plead material facts and comply with pleading rules, including requirements for pleading fraud with particulars.

The moving defendants sought summary dismissal of a cross‑claim arising from a three‑vehicle motor vehicle collision.

The responding defendants alleged the moving defendants’ excessive speed caused or contributed to the plaintiff’s injuries.

The court held that causation regarding speed and injury severity required expert evidence and that the responding defendants had produced none.

Given the expert reconstruction evidence filed by the moving defendants indicating the collision was unavoidable and injuries would have been similar at the posted speed limit, the court found no genuine issue requiring a trial and granted summary dismissal of the cross‑claim.