There was only one civil decision released by the Court of Appeal this week long enough to summarize. The rest were very short endorsements and criminal decisions.
Civil Decision
Hordo v. State Farm Mutual Automobile
Insurance Company, 2016 ONCA 238
[Doherty, Cronk and Pepall JJ.A.]
Counsel:
Robert Besunder, for the appellant
Mark Gelowitz and Karin Sachar, for the respondents
Keywords: Torts, Breach of Privacy, Insurance, Statutory Accident Benefits, Fresh Evidence
Facts:
The appellant, Hordo, appealed the motion judge's decision to
strike the application for declaratory relief against the
respondent insurers as an abuse of process. The appellant claimed
statutory accident benefits. In claiming the benefits, the
appellant alleges the respondent wrongfully transmitted her
confidential and private health-related information to persons
outside Ontario without her knowledge or consent.
The appellant made similar complaints under the Insurance Act and the Personal Information protection and Electronic Documents Act ("PIPEDA"). Both statutes have their own dispute resolution schemes. The respondents argued that declaratory relief should not be granted where it will not resolve the dispute when there are other reasonably effective procedures.
Issues:
(1) Did the motion judge err in denying the appellant declaratory
relief?
(2) Can the appellant file fresh evidence?
Holding: Appeal dismissed.
Reasoning:
(1) No. There is clear overlap between the appellant's
application for declaratory relief and the other action.
Furthermore, the dispute resolution procedures under the
Insurance Act and PIPEDA provide appropriate
resolution mechanisms. The appellant's application is
misconceived and designed to circumvent the mandatory statutory
schemes.
(2) No. The appellant cannot introduce the fresh evidence because it is irrelevant to the core issues in dispute.
Civil Endorsements
Midwest Properties Ltd. v.
Thordarson, 2016 ONCA 230
[Feldman, Hourigan and Benotto JJ.A.]
Counsel:
Evert Van Woudenberg, for the appellant
Frank Zechner and Christopher Du Vernet, for the respondents
Sandra Nishikawa and Isabelle O'Connor, for the intervener
Minister of the Environment and Climate Change
Key Words: Endorsement, Costs, Disbursements, Environmental Assessment Reports, In Contemplation of Litigation
2249740 Ontario Inc. v. Morguard Elgin
Ltd., 2016 ONCA 233
[Feldman, Simmons and Miller JJ.A.]
Counsel:
J. Scott Maidment and Stephen Brown-Okruhlik, for the
appellants
Ronald F. Caza and Anne M. Tardif, for the respondent
Key Words: Addendum, Summary Judgement, Quantification of Damages, Remittal to Different Judge
Ibrahim v. Toronto Transit
Commission, 2016 ONCA 234
[Feldman, Gillese and Brown JJ.A.]
Counsel:
Samir Ibrahim, acting in person
Andrew Davidson, for the respondent
Key Words: Civil Procedure, Motion to Strike, Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 21, Frivolous and Vexatious
Criminal Decisions
R v. McCracken, 2016 ONCA
228
[Doherty, Laskin and Tulloch JJ.A.]
Counsel:
Philip Campbell and Saman Wickramasinghe, for the
appellant
David Lepofsky, for the respondent
Key Words: Criminal Law, Second Degree Murder, Reasonableness of Verdict, Jury Charge, Mens Rea, Identification Evidence, Exculpatory Effect of Testimony, R. v. W. (D.). Instruction
R v. Wilson, 2016 ONCA
235
[Strathy C.J.O., Lauwers and Benotto JJ.A.]
Counsel:
Dena Bonnet, for the appellant
Ariel Herscovitch, for the respondent
Key Words: Criminal Law, First Degree Murder While Committing Sexual Assault, Criminal Code, S. 231(5)(b), Consent, Evidence, Inference, Preliminary Inquiry, Committal to Stand Trial, Certiorari, Appeal Allowed
R v. Boone, 2016 ONCA
227
[Sharpe, Benotto and Huscroft JJ.A.]
Counsel:
Jonathan Shime and Benjamin Elzinga Cheng, for the
appellant
Stacey Young, for the respondent
Key Words: Criminal Law, Aggravated Sexual Assault, Failure to Disclose HIV-Positive, Criminal Code, S 276, Jury Charge, Vetrovec Warning, Miller Error, Bad Character Evidence
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