William Douglas Tudhope Carter

Dr. Amir Gholami, a pediatric cardiac anaesthesiologist, sued The Hospital for Sick Children and two individual doctors for wrongful dismissal, breach of contract, various torts, and moral/punitive damages.

Dr. Gholami was employed under a restricted license (Pathway 4) requiring supervision, which was conditional on maintaining his certificate.

Concerns arose regarding his integration into the cardiac sub-group and his attitude.

He refused an offer to shift his focus from cardiac cases, insisting on his interpretation of the contract.

His supervisor subsequently resigned, leading to the automatic expiration of his certificate and the termination of his appointment.

The court found Dr. Gholami's interpretation of his contract to be misguided and unreasonable, and that his damages were directly caused by his own actions, including his refusal of reasonable offers and confrontational communications.

The court also noted his failure to exercise statutory rights under the Public Hospitals Act.

All of Dr. Gholami's claims were dismissed.

The Plaintiffs' medical negligence action against the Defendants was dismissed after a jury found breaches of standard of care but no causation.

The Defendants, as successful parties, sought costs.

The court, exercising its discretion under the Courts of Justice Act and Rules of Civil Procedure, rejected the Plaintiffs' arguments for no costs based on "divided success," access to justice concerns, or the Canadian Medical Protective Association covering the physicians' costs.

The court awarded costs on a partial indemnity basis to the Defendant Physicians and the Defendant Hospital, fixing specific amounts.

While the main Plaintiff, Jordan Sacks, was held liable for the bulk of the costs, the Family Law Act claimants (Jordan's wife and parents) were held liable for apportioned, rather than joint and several, amounts to ensure fairness given the derivative nature and comparatively modest value of their claims.