RP Blog

By Athina Ionita In Johnson v. Ontario, 2021 ONCA 650, the Court of Appeal determined that a decision refusing to extend the deadline for opting out of a class action affects a substantive right, and is therefore a final order, as it disposed of the plaintiff’s ability to continue hisRead More

In October 2020, the Class Proceedings Act, 1992 was amended to provide for an early resolution of issues. Section 4.1 of the Act states: 4.1 If, before the hearing of the motion for certification, a motion is made under the rules of court that may dispose of the proceeding in wholeRead More

One of the issues addressed in the recent decision of Paterson v. HMQ Ontario, 2021 ONSC 6295, is the overarching importance of civility between counsel. Justice Di Luca said that this may be even more important at discoveries since there is no judge in the room. His Honour stated: [47]Read More

In Simplified Procedure actions, a party is limited to conducting three hours of oral examinations, regardless of the number of parties or other persons to be examined. The case of Leask v. Homewood Health Centre Inc., 2021 ONSC 6287, involves a Simplified Procedure action. The defendants permitted the plaintiff’s lawyerRead More

Once a court has rendered a decision, parties are generally not permitted to make further arguments. However, in Leroux v. Ontario, 2021 ONSC 4468, the Divisional Court permitted further arguments after it had released its decision, but before an order had been issued and entered. After the Divisional Court providedRead More

The time to commence an appeal generally starts when the reasons for the decision are released (either orally or in writing), not from the date that the judgment is settled and issued. However, as indicated in the recent Court of Appeal decision of Gefen v. Gaertner, 2021 ONCA 631, thisRead More

By Brian Sunohara The decision in Estate of Kareem Watson et al v. RBC, 2021 ONSC 5305, addresses some of the evidence that may be required when an insurer attempts to rely on a material misrepresentation as a basis for voiding an insurance policy. Watson and Doucette were common lawRead More

In Ramnarine v. Marino, 2021 ONSC 5935, the plaintiffs brought a motion for substituted service of a statement of claim. The plaintiffs provided evidence of extensive efforts to locate the defendant. The plaintiffs sought to serve the defendant at his address contained in the Ministry of Transportation database. However, a processRead More

By Suganiya Sivabalan The recent License Appeal Tribunal decision in Amoh v. Pembridge Insurance, 2021 ONLAT 20-001280/AABS, addresses the issue of whether an applicant is barred from commencing a proceeding against the respondent when the applicant fails to comply with section 44 of the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule (“SABS”) byRead More

One of the issues in the case of Rheaume v. Foster, 2021 ONSC 5804, was whether the plaintiff or the defendant was responsible for paying the cost of obtaining productions, such as medical records, in a Simplified Procedure action. Justice Boswell held that each party is required to pay forRead More

In Lumaj v. St. Michael’s Hospital, 2021 ONSC 5786, the Divisional Court upheld a dismissal of a lawsuit for delay. The registrar had dismissed the lawsuit in May 2013. The plaintiff’s former lawyer did not take steps to set aside the dismissal. The plaintiffs themselves first learned of the dismissalRead More

By Meryl Rodrigues The recent Superior Court motion decision in Mitsis v. Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Community of London[i] speaks to the importance of defence counsel properly considering strategy when arranging a medical examination of a plaintiff – both with respect to timing of such an examination and to theRead More

In Massaroni v. Yum! Brands Inc., 2021 ONSC 5460, the court dismissed the plaintiff’s action in a matter involving an occupiers’ liability claim. The plaintiff was walking from a parking lot of a KFC store to a TD Bank.  There was a barrier separating two properties. The barrier was comprisedRead More

The trial judge in an upcoming trial has ruled that, in order to serve on the jury, the jurors must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. In R. v. Frampton, 2021 ONSC 5733, Justice Phillips stated that, “in the context of the burgeoning ‘fourth wave’, allowing an unvaccinated person to serveRead More

One of the issues in Rumney v. Nelson, 2021 ONSC 5632, was whether the jury should be advised of the statutory deductible in a motor vehicle accident trial. Justice Fowler Byrne confirmed that the jury should not be so advised. Section 267.5(7) of the Insurance Act indicates that damages forRead More

In a previous article, we discussed a decision in which the motion judge dismissed a “wrongful life” claim. A wrongful life claim is a claim asserted by a child for a pregnancy that results in birth defects, where the child argues that, but for the negligence of the doctor, theRead More

By Erin Crochetière In Hacopian-Armen Estate v. Mahmoud, 2021 ONCA 545, the Court of Appeal for Ontario considered issues of factual and legal causation in the context of medical negligence cases involving competing expert evidence. Overview The plaintiff, Armineh Hacopian-Armen, died on August 24, 2011, as a result of StageRead More

In Derenzis v. Ontario et al., 2021 ONSC 5355, the defendant sought a dismissal of the action under rule 2.1.01 of the Rules of Civil Procedure, which indicates that the court may stay or dismiss a proceeding if the proceeding appears on its face to be frivolous or vexatious orRead More

In Johnson v. Jevco, 2021 ONSC 4870, a statutory accident benefits claimant had an automobile insurance policy with Jevco for a Chevrolet Silverado. He bought a motorcycle and contacted his broker to request a quote to insure the motorcycle. He was advised that Jevco does not underwrite motorcycle insurance andRead More

By Emily Vereshchak In Sigurdson et al v. Norboard Inc. et al, 2021 ONSC 5193,the Superior Court of Justice declined to recognize a duty of care between the employer of a deceased individual and his family members. The Court stated that negligence alone should not open the gates to liabilityRead More

In a previous blog post, we advised that the Supreme Court of Canada granted leave in a matter involving the interpretation of a release in a motor vehicle accident claim. The appeal was argued and the Supreme Court has rendered a decision in Corner Brook (City) v. Bailey, 2021 SCCRead More

By Chris MacDonald In 2018, a new tort of public disclosure of private information was recognized by the Ontario Superior Court in Jane Doe 72511 v N.M., 2018 ONSC 6607. In this decision, the defendant was found liable for uploading an intimate video of the plaintiff on an explicit websiteRead More

There is sometimes confusion over which court to appeal to, and the Courts of Justice Act and the Rules of Civil Procedure need to be closely examined. In Pullano v. Hinder, 2021 ONSC 4714, the Divisional Court addressed the appeal route for a claim that is dismissed. The plaintiff suedRead More

In Welch v. Quast, 2021 ONSC 5083, Justice Tranquilli allowed an appeal of a Small Claims Court judgment that awarded the plaintiff damages for defamation. The purported defamatory statements were contained in e-mails the defendant sent in February 2016. The plaintiff amended his claim to plead defamation in March 2019.Read More

In Schram v. Loughrey, 2021 ONSC 5018, defence counsel inadvertently did not file a jury notice, contrary to the defendant’s insurer’s litigation guidelines. The statement of defence was delivered on June 28, 2018. The oversight was discovered on or around September 25, 2018. Due to a “miscommunication” within the client’sRead More

By Athina Ionita In Fratarcangeli v. North Blenheim Mutual Insurance Company, 2021 ONSC 3997, the Divisional Court held that the Licence Appeal Tribunal (the “LAT”) has the power, under section 7 of the Licence Appeal Tribunal Act (the “LAT Act”), to extend the two-year limitation period under section 56 ofRead More

In Duboff v. Simpson, 2021 ONSC 4970, following a couple’s separation, the court was asked to resolve a dispute over ownership of a dog. The applicant and the respondent are both lawyers. The applicant had always wanted a rescue dog and eventually found a boxer. The respondent was working 12Read More

In Chandrababu v. Tharmalingham, 2021 ONSC 4885, the court ordered the plaintiffs the attend defence medical examinations even though the trial was less than three months away. The reason was that the plaintiffs had recently served several expert reports and had recently provided the records of a treating psychiatrist. One plaintiff had already attendedRead More

An examining party has a prima facie right to select the corporate officer, director, or employee to be examined for discovery, and the court will not lightly interfere with the selection. The onus is on the corporation to show that the person selected is inappropriate. In Mohotoo v. Humber River Hospital, 2021Read More

In 2545890 Ontario Ltd. v. Cambium Inc., 2021 ONSC 4813, the defendant sought to set aside a noting in default and default judgment. The action was commenced in August 2019. An insurance adjuster was retained on behalf of the defendant to investigate the claim. In November and December 2019, the plaintiffs’Read More

In Chandarpal v. Ferreira, 2021 ONSC 4622, a civil jury trial was scheduled for the June 2021 sittings in Toronto, but it did not proceed due to a Notice to the Profession which suspended jury trials until July 5, 2021 at the earliest. In early June, the plaintiff brought aRead More

By Rebecca Moore In the context of a medical malpractice case, when is a claim discoverable by a plaintiff, so as to begin the running of the limitation period?   This issue was examined in the recent decision of Andrews et. al v. Pattison, 2021 ONSC 4757 (CanLII). In thisRead More

By Meryl Rodrigues In the recently released decision by the Court of Appeal in Moore v. 7595611 Canada Corp., 2021 ONCA 459, the Court upheld a jury award for damages for loss of care, guidance and companionship (among other heads of damages) awarded to the parents of an adult childRead More

In Montesano v. Western Assurance Co., 2021 ONLAT 19-006780, the claimant proceeded up her driveway towards her house after smoking a cigarette. She tripped and fell forward, striking her face against the rear bumper of her parked SUV before falling to the ground. The claimant applied for statutory accident benefits fromRead More

In Sui v. Chitiz, 2021 CanLII 50711 (ON SC), the plaintiff argued that the trial should not proceed by video conference because there are real issues of credibility which could be better assessed by an in-person hearing and because the volume of documents could more easily be managed through anRead More

The court has discretion to order an examination for discovery of a non-party. Before such an order is granted, the court must be satisfied that: the moving party has been unable to obtain the information from other people whom the moving party is entitled to examine for discovery, or from theRead More

In Tataryn v. AXA Insurance Canada, 2021 ONCA 413, the plaintiff commenced renovations to the second and third floor of her property while she lived on the first floor. Following the commencement of the renovations, there were two incidents of water damage. The plaintiff sought coverage under her homeowner’s insurance policy. TheRead More