Victoria Lynn Boddy

The decision addresses a motion by iHealthOx Inc. and Terri Storey to set aside a default judgment obtained by Welch LLP for unpaid professional fees.

The court found that the defendants were validly served and that iHealthOx Inc. did not have an arguable defence on the merits, but that Ms. Storey had an arguable defence regarding her personal liability.

The default judgment was set aside as against Ms. Storey, conditional on payment of costs, but not as against iHealthOx Inc.

The appellant, Marguerite Crete, appealed a motion judge's declaration that a snow removal provision in her lease was not inconsistent with the Residential Tenancies Act, making her responsible for snow clearing in areas exclusively used by her.

The Court of Appeal affirmed the motion judge's finding that the snow removal provision was not inconsistent with the RTA, despite finding errors in the motion judge's interpretation of certain RTA sections.

The appeal was dismissed, confirming the tenant's responsibility for snow clearing in exclusively used areas.

The plaintiff tripped over sandals left on the back stoop of the defendant's home by the defendant's wife.

The plaintiff sued the defendant under the Occupiers' Liability Act.

The court dismissed the action, finding that the defendant met the standard of care of a reasonable person in the circumstances.

The court held that an occupier is not required to police a capable adult spouse's habit of leaving sandals on a stoop, nor to warn visitors of such a habit.

The court also found that causation was not established and noted in obiter that the plaintiff would have been 25 percent contributorily negligent for failing to look where she was stepping.

The plaintiff tenant sued her landlord for injuries sustained in a slip and fall on ice on the front step of her leased row house.

The landlord counterclaimed, arguing the tenant was responsible for winter maintenance of the exclusive use area.

Both parties moved for summary judgment on the issue of responsibility for clearing the ice.

The court held that the front step was an exclusive use area, not a common area, and that the lease provision requiring the tenant to remove snow was not void under the Residential Tenancies Act.

The tenant's motion to dismiss the counterclaim was dismissed, and the landlord's motion was granted in part, declaring the tenant responsible for winter maintenance of the area.

Following a summary judgment motion where the defendants were largely successful, the parties settled the action and submitted a joint costs brief.

The defendants sought $32,014.17 in partial indemnity costs, while the plaintiff argued for $15,000, noting the defendants spent twice as much time and charged three times as much as the plaintiff.

The court found the defendants' time investment was generally reasonable given what was at stake, but acknowledged some overkill, ultimately fixing costs at $27,500 all-inclusive.

The moving party sought an extension of time to bring a motion to oppose the confirmation of an assessment officer's certificate regarding a solicitor's account, and a stay of enforcement.

The court applied the test for extending time to appeal and found the moving party's delay was inordinate and inadequately explained.

The court concluded the moving party did not maintain an intention to pursue the motion and that the justice of the case did not support an extension.

The motion was dismissed.

The plaintiffs brought a motion to amend their Statement of Claim to add several contractors as defendants in an action concerning construction defects in their home.

One proposed defendant, a roofing contractor, opposed the motion, arguing the limitation period had expired, the death of its sole employee caused irredeemable prejudice, and the claim for pure economic loss was not legally tenable.

The court granted the motion, finding that there was a genuine issue of fact regarding when the claim was discoverable, that the death of the employee did not cause non-compensable prejudice, and that the proposed amendments disclosed a legally tenable cause of action.