Top 5 Civil Appeals From The Court Of Appeal (July 2014 - Video Companion)

Appellate lawyer, Cynthia Kuehl provides a summary of Lerners' Top 5 Ontario civil appeals decisions from July 2014. 1. Trillium Motor World Ltd. v. General Motors of Canada Limited, 2014 ONCA 497. The Court of Appeal considering whether a motions judge erred in applying the 4th presumptive connecting factor from the Van Breda test requiring that a contract be connected with a dispute was made in the province, whether a motions judge erred in applying the 2nd presumptive connecting factor from the Van Breda test requiring a defendant to be carrying on business in Ontario, and whether or not Quebec would be more appropriate than Ontario for the third party proceedings against Quebec counsel. The Court of Appeal dismissed the action noting it was fair to subject the third party appellants to the power of the Ontario courts. 2. Harris v. Leikin Group Inc., 2014 ONCA 479. The Court of Appeal considering whether a trial judge erred in directing a hybrid trial as it effected the ability to control the trial, and whether a trial judge made procedural and substantive errors. The Court of Appeal dismissed the action noting that the time to challenge the directions for trial was when the directions were issued, not on the appeal, and that the trial judge made no error in directing a hybrid trial. 3. Baywood Homes Partnership v. Haditaghi, 2014 ONCA 450. The Court of Appeal considering whether a motions judge erred in failing to assess the advisability of hearing the motions for summary judgment and in the way they were addressed addressing given the context of the overall litigation, and whether it was appropriate for the motions judge to dismiss the main action on the basis that it was prohibited by a release which the motions judge found was authentic and valid. The Court of Appeal found the motions judge did err and reversed the decision dismissing the claim, ordered that both the claim and counterclaim proceed to trial and cautioned against excessive reliance on decontextualized Affidavit and transcript evidence in the context of summary judgment, particularly in matters involving...