Visnja Jovanovic

The plaintiff in a solicitor's negligence action brought a motion to strike out paragraphs of the defendants' Amended Statement of Defence that contained blanket denials.

The plaintiff argued that under Rules 25.06(1) and 25.07(3) of the Rules of Civil Procedure, the defendants were required to plead their own version of material facts for every allegation denied.

The court dismissed the motion, holding that a defendant is not required to plead a different version of facts for every denied allegation, and that the defendants' pleading, read as a whole, sufficiently defined the issues in dispute.

The appellant sought to set aside a motion judge's order dismissing her motion to set aside the administrative dismissal of her appeal.

The appeal had been administratively dismissed twice due to the appellant's repeated failure to meet perfection deadlines, despite extensions.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appellant's motion, finding no basis to interfere with the motion judge's discretion, noting the extensive delay, the unconvincing justification for non-perfection, and the lack of proof for the appellant's claims of material tampering or respondent non-cooperation.

The appellant, Zaka Ullah Khan, appealed the dismissal of his action by way of summary judgment under Rule 20.

His claim was premised on the assertion that his tort action had settled for a higher amount than he received, with the remainder allegedly misappropriated by the respondents.

The Court of Appeal affirmed the motion judge's finding that while some factual disputes existed (e.g., signing of release, meeting details), they were not material to the core issue.

The motion judge found no evidence to support the claim of a higher settlement or misappropriation.

Consequently, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, denied leave to appeal the costs award, and denied leave to cross-appeal the costs order.

The plaintiff, Leanne Hunt, sued the City of Toronto, Northam Realty Advisors (landlord), and Pattison Outdoor Advertising Ltd. (sign owner) after sustaining a head injury from colliding with a billboard catwalk.

The defendants brought a motion for summary judgment to dismiss the claim.

The court dismissed the motion against Pattison, finding genuine issues for trial regarding negligence in sign design and the conflicting expert evidence on visibility and conspicuity.

However, the court granted summary judgment to the City of Toronto, ruling that its officials correctly applied the building code and by-laws regarding sign permits and were not negligent in interpreting 'pedestrian walkway.' Summary judgment was also granted to Northam, as it was not an 'occupier' of the leased sign under the Occupiers' Liability Act and therefore not responsible for hazards related to the sign itself.