Court Of Appeal Summaries (November 21 ' 25, 2022)

• Published date: 28 November 2022
• Subject Matter: Employment and HR, Insurance, Litigation, Mediation & Arbitration, Food, Drugs, Healthcare, Life Sciences, Family and Matrimonial, Privacy, Employee Rights/ Labour Relations, Family Law, Insurance Laws and Products, Privacy Protection, Arbitration & Dispute Resolution, Trials & Appeals & Compensation, Professional Negligence, Civil Law
• Law Firm: Blaney McMurtry LLP
• Author: Mr John Polyzogopoulos

Good afternoon.

Following are this week's summaries of the Court of Appeal for Ontario for the week of November 21, 2022.

The Court heard three appeals in class proceedings which all related to whether the tort of intrusion upon seclusion is a viable claim against custodians of personal information whose databases and security protocols are breached by unknown third party hackers. The Court ultimately held that while such custodians of personal data can be sued in negligence, contract or breach of statutory obligations to protect personal information, they cannot be sued for the tort of inclusions upon seclusion.

In National Organized Workers Union v. Sinai Health System, the union sought injunctive relief to prohibit the respondent from enforcing a mandatory vaccination policy pending a related grievance arbitration. The Court held that the application judge did not err in refusing to exercise her discretion to use the residual jurisdiction of the Superior Court to grant the injunctive relief. She correctly found that there was no remedial gap in the remedies available to a labour arbitrator, who could award reinstatement and compensation for lost wages to workers who were suspended or terminated for failing to abide by an unlawful vaccination policy.

The Court in Hybrid Financial Ltd. v. Flow Capital Corp. considered whether a buyout provision in a financing agreement, resulting in the appellant having to pay several times the initial loan amount received, constituted a violation of the usury laws set out in s. 347 of the Criminal Code. The Court found that the application judge had erred in finding that the Agreement's buyout provision was not captured by s. 347, which makes it illegal to charge interest at rate of 60% or more per year. The Court must look to the substance of the transaction, rather than the form or characterization of payments.

In Beaudin v. Travelers Insurance Company of Canada, the Court upheld the Divisional Court's decision holding that the respondent, who was catastrophically injured in a dirt bike accident in a closed course competition, was eligible for statutory accident benefits under the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule of the Insurance Act. The Court held that the Divisional Court's decision was consistent with the case law and the modern approach to statutory interpretation in deciding that the respondent's injury occurred as a result of an "accident" through the use of an "automobile" as defined in the Insurance Act.

John Polyzogopoulos
Blaney McMurtry LLP
416.593.2953 Email

Ines Ferriera
Blaney McMurtry LLP
416.597.4895 Email

Table of Contents

Civil Decisions

Caledon (Town) v. Darzi Holdings Ltd., 2022 ONCA 807

Keywords: Civil Procedure, Orders, Enforcement, Contempt, Sentencing, Fines, Fresh Evidence, R. v. Palmer, [1980] 1 S.C.R. 759, The Corporation of the Township of King v. 11547372 Canada Inc. et al, 2022 ONSC 2261, College of Optometrists of Ontario v. SHS Optical Ltd., 2008 ONCA 685

Studley v. Studley, 2022 ONCA 810

Keywords:Family Law, Real Property, Marriage Property, Remedies, Constructive Trust, Resulting Trust, Civil Procedure, Amending Pleadings, Limitation Period, Jurisdiction, Family Law Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. F.3, s. 7(3)(a), Limitations Act, 2002, S.O. 2002, c. 24, Sched. B., s. 4, Real Property Limitations Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. L.15, s. 4, s. 23, Family Law Rules, O. Reg. 114/99, s. 5(1), r. 2(5)(a), r. 11(3), Pecore v. Pecore, 2017 SCC 17, Moghimi v. Dashti, 2016 ONSC 216, Greenglass v. Greenglass, 2010 ONCA 675, McConnell v. Huxtable, 2014 ONCA 86, Bakhsh v. Merdad, 2022 ONCA 130, 1250140 Ontario Inc. v. Bader, 2022 ONCA 197

National Organized Workers Union v. Sinai Health System, 2022 ONCA 802

Keywords: Labour Law, Labour Relations, Labour Arbitration, Grievances, Jurisdiction, Discretion, Injunctions, Vaccination Policies, Labour Relations Act, 1995, S.O. 1995, c. 1, Sched. A, ss. 48, 49, St. Anne Nackawic Pulp & Paper v. CPU, [1986] 1 S.C.R. 704, Weber v. Ontario Hydro, [1995] 2 S.C.R. 929, Nor-Man Regional Health Authority Inc. v. Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals, 2011 SCC 59, Northern Regional Health Authority v. Horrocks, 2021 SCC 42, Ontario Nurses Assn. v. Toronto Hospital, [1996] O.J. No. 3861 (Gen. Div.), Rattai v. Hydro One Inc., 2005 CanLII 13786, Housen v. Nikolaisen, 2002 SCC 33, H.B. Fuller Company v. Rogers (Rogers Law Office), 2015 ONCA 173, Google Inc. v. Equustek Solutions Inc., 2017 SCC 34, Wojdan v. Canada (AG), 2021 FC 1341, Lachance c. Procureur général du Québec, 2021 QCCS 4721, Kotsopoulos v. North Bay General Hospital, [2002] O.J. No. 715 (S.C.), Lavergne-Poitras v. Canada (AG), 2021 FC 1232, Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 113 v. Toronto Transit Commission, 2017 ONSC 2078, Vaughan v. Canada, 2005 SCC 11, RJR-MacDonald Inc. v. Canada (AG), [1994] 1 S.C.R. 311, Toronto Catholic District School Board v. Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association, 2021 CanLII 44852 (Ont. L.A.), Lakehead University v. Lakehead University Faculty Association, 2018 CanLII 112407 (Ont. L.A.), Milka Cavic v. Canadian Union of Public Employees Union Local 905, 2022 CanLII 5015 (Ont. L.R.B.), James T. Casey and Ayla Akgungor, ed., Remedies in Labour, Employment and Human Rights Law, loose-leaf (Toronto: Carswell, 2022).

Rosehaven Homes Limited v. Aluko, 2022 ONCA 817

Keywords:Civil Procedure, Summary Judgment, Evidence, Admissibility, Expert Evidence, Damages, Rules of Civil Procedure, r. 53.03, Form 53 Acknowledgment of Expert's Duty, Karami v. Kovari, 2019 ONSC 637

Obodo v. Trans Union of Canada, Inc., 2022 ONCA 814

Keywords: Torts, Negligence, Intrusion Upon Seclusion, Breach of Privacy, Vicarious Liability, Civil Procedure, Class Proceedings, Reasonable Cause of Action, Appeals, Jurisdiction, Final or Interlocutory, Class Proceedings Act, 1992, S.O. 1992, c. 6, ss. 30 and 39(1), Courts of Justice Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C.43, s. 6(1)(b), Civil Code of Quebec, CQLR c CCQ-1991, art. 25 and 37, Owsianik v. Equifax Canada Co., 2021 ONSC 4112, Winder v. Marriott International, Inc., 2022 ONSC 390, Jones v. Tsige, 2012 ONCA 32, Owsianik: Obodo v. Trans Union of Canada, Inc., 2021 ONSC 7297, R. v. Meltzer, [1989] 1 S.C.R. 1764, Cavanaugh v. Grenville Christian College, 2013 ONCA 139, Bazley v. Curry, [1999] 2 S.C.R. 534, 671122 Ontario Ltd. v. Sagaz Industries Canada Inc., 2001 SCC 59

Winder v. Marriott International, Inc., 2022 ONCA 815

Keywords: Torts, Intrusion Upon Seclusion, Privacy, Civil Procedure, Class Proceedings, Certification, Reasonable Cause of Action, Rules of Civil Procedure, r. 21.01(1)(a), Owsianik v. Equifax Canada Co., 2021 ONSC 4112, Obodo v. Trans Union of Canada, Inc., 2021 ONSC 7297, Beaudoin Estate v. Campbellford Memorial Hospital, 2021 ONCA 57, Das v. George Weston Ltd., 2018 ONCA, Jones v. Tsige, 2012 ONCA 32 1053

Hybrid Financial Ltd. v. Flow Capital Corp., 2022 ONCA 820

Keywords: Contracts, Interpretation, Debtor-Creditor, Criminal Law, Interest, Usury, Criminal Rate of Interest, Criminal Code, R.S.C., 1985, c. C-46, s. 347, Garland v. Consumers' Gas Co., [1998] 3 S.C.R. 112, Degelder Construction Co. v. Dancorp Developments Ltd., [1998] 3 S.C.R. 90, Sattva Capital Corp. v. Creston Moly Corp., 2014 SCC 53, Mira Design Co. v. Seascape Holdings Ltd. (1981), 34 B.C.L.R. 55 (S.C.), Cirius Messaging Inc. v. Epstein Enterprises Inc., 2018 BCSC 1859, Nelson v. C.T.C. Mortgage Corp. (1984), 59 B.C.L.R. 221 (C.A.), 16 D.L.R. (4th) 139, aff'd [1986] 1 S.C.R. 749

Beaudin v. Travelers Insurance Company of Canada , 2022 ONCA 806

Keywords: Contracts, Insurance, Coverage, Statutory Interpretation, Automobile Insurance, Statutory Accident Benefits, Definition of "Accident", Definition of "Automobile", Catastrophic Injury, Insurance Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. I.8, s. 2, Compulsory Automobile Insurance Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C.25, s. 11(6), Licence Appeal Tribunal Act, s. 1, Highway Traffic Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule - Effective September 1, 2010, O. Reg. 34/10, s. 2(1)5, General Regulation, R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 863 of Off-Road Vehicles Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. O.4, s.224(1),Benson v. Belair Insurance Company Inc., 2019 ONCA 840, Adams v. Pineland Amusements Ltd., 2007 ONCA 844, Benson v. Belair Insurance Company Inc., 2019 ONCA 840, Matheson v. Lewis, 2014 ONCA 542, Rizzo & Rizzo Shoes Ltd. (Re), [1998] 1 S.C.R. 27, Bell ExpressVu Limited Partnership v. Rex, 2002 SCC 42, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Canada (Attorney General), 2005 SCC 26, Haliburton (County) v. Gillespie, 2013 ONCA 40

Owsianik v. Equifax Canada Co., 2022 ONCA 813

Keywords: Torts, Intrusion Upon Seclusion, Breach of Privacy, Civil Procedure, Class Proceedings, Reasonable Cause of Action, Class Proceedings Act, 1992, S.O. 1992, c. 6, s. 5(1)(a), Rules of Civil Procedure, R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 194, r. 21.01(1)(a), Jones v. Tsige, 2012 ONCA 32, Obodo v. Trans Union of Canada, Inc., 2021 ONSC 7297, Winder v. Marriott International, Inc., 2022 ONSC 390, R. v. Imperial Tobacco Canada Ltd., 2011 SCC 42, Bowman v. Ontario, 2022 ONCA 477, Agnew-Americano v. Equifax Canada Co., 2019 ONSC 7110, Owsianik v. Equifax Canada Co., 2021 ONSC 4112, Atlantic Lottery Corp. Inc. v. Babstock, 2020 SCC 19, Hunt v. Carey Canada Inc., [1990] 2 S.C.R. 959, Bennett v. Lenovo (Canada) Inc., 2017 ONSC 1082, Kaplan v. Casino Rama, 2019 ONSC 2025, Tucci v. Peoples Trust Company, 2020 BCCA 246, Nelles v. Ontario, [1989] 2 S.C.R. 170, Ontario (Attorney General) v. Clark, 2021 SCC 18, Arora v. Whirlpool Canada LP, 2013 ONCA 657, Del Giudice v. Thompson, 2021 ONSC 5379, Piresferreira v. Ayotte, 2010 ONCA 384, Demme v. Healthcare Insurance Reciprocal of Canada, 2022 ONCA 503, Merrifield v. Canada (Attorney General), 2019 ONCA 205, Fullowka v. Pinkerton's of Canada Ltd., 2010 SCC 5, Rankin (Rankin's Garage & Sales) v. J.J., 2018 SCC 19, P. Perl (Exporters) Ltd. v. Camden London Borough Council, [1983] EWCA Civ 9, [1984] Q.B. 342, Allgood v. Paperlesspay Corp., 2022 WL 846070...