Court of Appeal Summaries (October 12 – 15, 2021)

  • October 23, 2021
  • John Polyzogopoulos

Congratulations to our own Reeva M. Finkel and Brendan Jones for their success in Hydro One Networks Inc. v. Niagara Radio Group Inc. In that case, the Court dismissed an appeal from an order for specific performance that also involved an intervener, being the appellant’s counsel that had negotiated the contract that was specifically enforced.

In Bouchard v. Sgovio, the majority held that the motion judge properly made orders pursuant to Rule 1(8) of the Family Law Rules. The majority found that Rule 1(8) had not been interpreted as being confined to purely procedural remedies. The majority further found that nothing prevented a court from making an enforcement order in addition to, or in lieu of, a contempt order even if a contempt order was sought in the proceeding.

In Hucsko v. A.O. Smith Enterprises Limited, the Court set aside the trial decision, finding that an employer’s decision to terminate an employee’s employment was a proportional and wholly warranted response to sexual harassment.

In Tanti v. Tanti, the Court set out the test for capacity to marry:the marrying parties must understand the nature of the marriage contract and the duties and responsibilities that flow from it.

In Freeza, Brown J.A concluded his short endorsement by stating that one of the great on-going failures of the Ontario civil justice system is the confusion entrenched in the Courts of Justice Act concerning appeal routes from orders made by judges of the Superior Court of Justice. That such confusion inflicts unnecessary legal costs on parties, delays the resolution of appeals on their merits and, as this case illustrates, sows uncertainty about how a party can attempt to protect its rights pending appeal. Justice Brown called on the Ontario Legislature to enact legislation that creates an unambiguous “bright line” explaining where an appeal lies.

Lastly, for our readers who have not yet heard about it, I would like to introduce them to a new online publication, Civil Procedure & Practice in Ontario (CPPO) (CPPO). The CPPO is a new free online resource jointly published by the University of Windsor and CanLII. As most of our readers probably know, CanLII is a not-for-profit organization operated by the Federation of Law Societies of Canada and is dedicated to assisting with access to justice through the free and open dissemination of the laws of Canada to all members of the public. The CPPO was written by a team of 135 leading litigators and experts in Ontario civil procedure, led by Professor Noel Semple of Windsor Law School. I had the privileged to co-author two chapters to CPPO dealing with Rules 54 and 55 (Directing a Reference and Procedure on a Reference).

CPPO will serve as a guide to Ontario’s Rules of Civil Procedure, Courts of Justice Act, and Limitations Act, and will be accessible not only to practitioners, but to members of the public. It contains not only the text of all these rules and statutory provisions, but also commentary and annotations to all the relevant case law applying and interpreting each rule and section. To access Civil Procedure & Practice in Ontario, please click here, and make sure to bookmark the site for easy access.

I would encourage all of our readers to consult CPPO in their daily practice, and to spread the word among colleagues. In addition, the authors and Professor Semple would welcome any feedback and ideas for improvement.