Stevens v. Hutchens involved an appeal from an order authorizing the distribution of assets under receivership. The appellant law firm argued against the pooling of assets of the individual and corporate debtors. It was the only creditor of the corporate debtors. The other creditors only had a claim against the individual debtors. The Court upheld the decision to pierce the corporate veil and order a pooled distribution. The assets held by the corporate debtors had been fraudulently transferred to them by the individual debtors to evade creditors. Fairness therefore dictated that all creditors should share in the distribution.
In a lengthy decision in Hamer v Jane Doe, the Court allowed the appeal and set aside the dismissal of a defamation action under the Anti-SLAPP provisions of s. 137.1 of the Courts of Justice Act. The Court held that the motion judge failed to apply the requisite approach in determining a s. 137.1 motion by effectively focusing only on the respondents’ freedom of expression and losing sight of the equally important value of the protection of the appellants’ reputation.
Stewart v. Bay of Quinte Mutual Insurance Co. was a decision in which the plaintiff’s main claim against his property/fire insurer for underinsuring his property was dismissed after a ten-day trial. However, his claim with respect to the value of his property lost in the fire was allowed, resulting in a $51,000 judgment against the insurer. The insurer’s appeal from that rather modest judgment was dismissed.
In J.M. v B.S., a family case, the Court determined that an appeal from an order temporarily granting one parent authority to administer vaccines to their child was an interlocutory order because the final determination of who would have such authority was to be made at trial. The fact that once a vaccine was administered, the vaccination was irreversible, did not turn the order into a final order for appeal purposes. The Court therefore had no jurisdiction and the proposed appellant’s motion for an order extending of the time to appeal and transferring the appeal from the Divisional Court to the Court of Appeal was dismissed.
Table of Contents
Civil Decisions
Keywords: Family Law, Parenting, Decision-Making, Appeals, Jurisdiction, Orders, Final or Interlocutory, Extensions of Time, Divorce Act, R.S.C., 1985, c.3, Courts of Justice Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C.43, ss. 6(1)(b), 19(1)(a.1), 19(1)(b), Enbridge Gas Distribution Inc. v. Froese, 2013 ONCA 131, Fontaine v. Canada (Attorney General), 2021 ONCA 931, Collins v. Tiveron, 2024 ONCA 447, Mattina v. Mattina, 2018 ONSC 1569, Goldberg v. Goldberg (1989), 68 O.R. (2d) 124 (H.C.), Elgner v. Elgner, 2011 ONCA 483, Prescott & Russell (United Counties) v. David S. Laflamme Construction Inc., 2018 ONCA 495, Paulpillai Estate v. Yusuf, 2020 ONCA 655, Drywall Acoustic Lathing Insulation Local 675 Pension Fund v. SNC-Lavalin Group Inc., 2020 ONCA 375, Sypher v. Sypher (1986), 2 R.F.L. (3d) 413 (Ont. C.A.), J.N. v. C.G., 2023 ONCA 77, J.N. v. C.G., 2022 ONSC 1198, A.V. v. C.V., 2023 ONSC 1634
Keywords: Bankruptcy and Insolvency, Receiverships, Fraudulent Conveyances, Distributions, Claims Process, Priority Dispute, Interest, Corporations, Remedies, Piercing Corporate Veil, Courts of Justice Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C.43, s. 101, FNF Enterprises Inc. v. Wag and Train, 2023 ONCA 92, Wildman v. Wildman (2006), 82 O.R. (3d) 401 (C.A.), Borden Ladner Gervais v. Sinclair et al., 2013 ONSC 7640, Ontario Securities Commission v. Money Gate Mortgage Investment Corporation, 2020 ONCA 812, Stevens v. Hutchens, 2022 ONCA 771, Deloitte & Touche Inc. v. Shoppers Trust Co. (2005), 74 O.R. (3d) 652 (C.A.)
Keywords: Contracts, Insurance, Property, Fire, Actual Cash Value, Statutory Conditions, Proof of Loss, Waiver, Statutory Interpretation, Remedies, Relief from Forfeiture, Insurance Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. I-8, ss. 128, 129, 131 and 148, Bradfield v. Royal Sun Alliance Insurance Co. of Canada, 2019 ONCA 800, Monk v. Farmers Mutual Insurance Company (Lindsay), 2019 ONCA 616, 6 King Inc. v. Aviva Canada Inc., 2017 ONCA 408, The Dominion of Canada General Insurance Company v. Nelson, 2023 ONSC 386 (Div. Ct.)., Hryniak v. Maudlin, 2014 SCC 7
Keywords: Torts, Defamation, Anti-SLAPP, Public Interest, Defences, Fair Comment, Malice, Justification, Responsible Communication, Civil Procedure, Standard of Review, Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, s. 2(b), Courts of Justice Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C. 43, s. 137.1, Rules of Civil Procedure, rr. 20, 39.01, Bent v. Platnick, 2020 SCC 23, [2020] 2 S.C.R. 645, Marcellin v. London (Police Services Board), 2024 ONCA 468, Park Lawn Corporation v. Kahu Capital Partners Ltd., 2023 ONCA 129, 1704604 Ontario Ltd. v. Pointes Protection Association, 2020 SCC 22, Hansman v. Neufeld, 2023 SCC 14, Thorman v. McGraw, 2022 ONCA 851, Subway Franchise Systems of Canada, Inc. v. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 2021 ONCA 26, Levant v. DeMelle, 2022 ONCA 79, 40 Days for Life v. Dietrich, 2024 ONCA 599, Mondal v. Kirkconnell, 2023 ONCA 523, Lascaris v. B’nai Brith Canada, 2019 ONCA 163, Bondfield Construction Company Ltd. v. The Globe and Mail Inc., 2019 ONCA 166, Armstrong v. Corus Entertainment Inc., 2018 ONCA 689, 2110120 Ontario Inc. v. Buttar, 2023 ONCA 539, Awan v. Levant, 2016 ONCA 970, WIC Radio Ltd. v. Simpson, 2008 SCC 40, Zoutman v. Graham, 2019 ONSC 2834, aff’d 2020 ONCA 767, Canadian Union of Postal Workers, Grant v. Torstar Corp., 2009 SCC 61, Barrick Gold Corp. v. Lopehandia (2004), 71 O.R. (3d) 416 (C.A.), Schwartz v. Collette, 2023 ONCA 574, Ontario, Ministry of the Attorney General, Anti-SLAPP Advisory Panel: Report to the Attorney General, (Toronto: 2010), Legislative Assembly of Ontario, Official Report of Debates (Hansard), No. 41A, 2014, Peter A. Downard, The Law of Libel in Canada, 4th ed. (Toronto: LexisNexis, 2018)
Short Civil Decisions
Keywords: Family Law, Civil Procedure, Appeals, Leave, Perfection, Extension of Time, Enbridge Gas Distribution Inc. v. Frose, 2013 ONCA 131, Correct Building Corporation v. Lehman, 2022 ONCA 723, Machado v. Ontario Hockey Association, 2019 ONCA 210, Hillmount Capital Inc. v. Pizale, 2021 ONCA 364, Iqbal v. Mansoor, 2022 ONCA 198
Keywords: Torts, Crown Liability, Civil Procedure, Striking Pleadings, Appeals, Costs, Crown Liability and Proceedings Act, 2019, S.O. 2019, c. 7, Sched. 17, Courts of Justice Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C.43, s. 19(1.2)(a), Mullin v. Lagace, 2015 ONCA 757
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