Tony Afecto

The plaintiff brought a civil action alleging assault and excessive force by police officers during an arrest that resulted in a shoulder injury.

The plaintiff conceded that the officers had reasonable and probable grounds for arrest but argued that the arresting officer used excessive force.

The court found that the officer used only a simple grab to pull the plaintiff away from discarded drugs and another suspect, causing the plaintiff to fall and injure his shoulder.

Applying principles under s. 25 of the Criminal Code and relevant case law on justified use of force, the court held that the force used was reasonable in the circumstances.

The action for damages was dismissed.

The plaintiff suffered injuries at the defendant's amusement park but failed to commence an action within the two-year limitation period under the Limitations Act, 2002 due to lawyer inadvertence.

The motion judge applied the common law doctrine of special circumstances to extend the limitation period.

The Court of Appeal allowed the defendant's appeal, holding that the Limitations Act, 2002 is a comprehensive scheme that does not preserve the court's common law discretion to extend limitation periods based on special circumstances.

The action was declared statute-barred.

The defendant sought leave to appeal a trial judge's decision not to award him costs after successfully defending a motor vehicle accident claim.

The jury found the defendant liable but awarded only $3,000 in damages, and the trial judge subsequently dismissed the action on a threshold motion.

The trial judge declined to award costs to the successful defendant, citing the plaintiff's difficult circumstances, the complexity of the medical history, and the fact that the plaintiff had established liability and some injury.

The Divisional Court dismissed the application for leave to appeal, finding that the trial judge did not exercise his discretion based on a misapprehension of facts or an erroneous principle of law.