William Leslie

The plaintiffs brought an action against the municipality seeking damages and the removal of a municipal road built on their property in 1986.

The municipality brought a motion to dismiss the action, arguing it was statute-barred, res judicata, and that the Superior Court lacked jurisdiction.

The court found that under section 65(1) of the Municipal Act, 2001, the mistaken construction of the road constituted a deemed expropriation.

Consequently, the plaintiffs are prohibited from bringing an action for possession or damages in the Superior Court, and their sole remedy is to seek compensation before the Ontario Land Tribunal.

The action was dismissed.

The plaintiffs brought a motion to compel the defendant's representative to answer a refused question from an examination for discovery.

The underlying action involved allegations of negligent repair of an ATV.

The refused question asked the representative to agree that if the threads on the axle were intact, the only way the tire could come off was if the cotter pin was missing.

The court dismissed the motion, finding that the question improperly sought an expert opinion on a hypothetical matter from a layperson.

The defendants brought a motion to remove the plaintiff’s counsel and law firm as solicitors of record on the basis of an alleged conflict of interest.

They argued that the lawyer had previously interacted with one defendant while representing a related corporation during regulatory proceedings involving dealership licence suspensions, and had allegedly received confidential information and provided legal advice.

The court applied the principles governing disqualification of counsel, including the test from MacDonald Estate v Martin regarding prior relationships and confidential information.

The court found no solicitor-client relationship between the lawyer and the defendants and no evidence that confidential information about the defendants had been imparted.

As no conflict of interest or breach of duty of loyalty was established, the motion to remove counsel was dismissed.