A collection of judgments of the Superior Court of Justice, primarily released after October 1, 2002, is posted on CanLII. The CanLII website is not an exhaustive source of judgments of the Superior Court of Justice. The official version of the reasons for judgment is the signed original or handwritten endorsement in the court file. In the event that there is a question about the content of a judgment, the original in the court file takes precedence.

Judgments are available in the language provided.

Copies of judgments of the Superior Court of Justice can be obtained by contacting the respective court administrative office where the matter was heard. A photocopy charge is payable. Judgments are also available on a number of subscription based services such as LexisNexis® Quicklaw^TM and WestlawNext® Canada.

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• Superior Court of Justice Recent Decisions
• Superior Court of Justice Divisional Court Recent Decisions

Superior Court of Justice Recent Decisions

• 2025-12-09 Re Shaw, 2025 ONSC 6385 (CanLII)
  Key Words: Bankruptcy and insolvency — Surplus income — Definition of total income — Whether advances from a third party during bankruptcy are “total income” under s. 68(2)(a) BIA — Characterisation of advances as liabilities with interest, term, and prepayment rights — Not advances for future services — Use of funds does not alter debt nature — Amounts not total income
  Statutory interpretation — Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act — Modern principle — Textual, contextual and purposive analysis applied to s. 68 — Interpretation Act, s. 12 — Breadth of “revenues of whatever nature” considered — Does the definition convert loans into income? — Harmonious reading with scheme and purpose of surplus income — Amounts not total income
  Bankruptcy and insolvency — Rehabilitation — Fresh start — Whether the rehabilitation principle affects classification under s. 68 — Incurring debt during bankruptcy raised but distinguished from income analysis — Possible relevance at discharge hearing only — Rehabilitation not determinative of “total income” characterisation — Amounts not total income
• 2025-12-09 Nootchtai v. Nahwegahbow Corbiere Genoodmagejig Barristers and Solicitors, 2025 ONSC 6888 (CanLII)
  Key Words: Trusts — Costs in trust litigation — Proper administration exception — Whether successful beneficiaries are entitled to full indemnification of legal fees from a trust — Public policy exception in Sawdon Estate v. Sawdon applied — Fiduciary duties and protection of beneficiaries’ interests emphasised — Indemnification treated as administrative expense of the trust — Full indemnification ordered
  Trusts — Trustee powers and duties — Indemnification under statute — Trustee Act, s. 23.1 — Does s. 23.1 apply when trustees proceed as beneficiaries rather than on behalf of the trust? — Applicants proceeded personally and for beneficiaries under Solicitors Act, s. 9 — Statutory indemnity inapplicable on these facts — Claim under s. 23.1 rejected
  Trusts — Costs in trust litigation — Contingent fee recovery — Can a contingent success fee be included in indemnifiable legal fees from a trust? — Distinction between inter partes partial indemnity and trust indemnity — Fairness and reasonableness of fee arrangement assessed, proportionality concerns distinguished — Contingent component treated as lawful and reasonable — Contingent fee recoverable
  Procedure — Costs — Timing of costs award — Should fixing costs await the outcome of an appeal? — Costs flow from the outcome before the court of first instance — Appeal court retains costs discretion under Courts of Justice Act, s. 131 — No deferral of costs pending appeal — Costs fixed, payment stayed pending appeal
• 2025-12-09 R v. Thamilarasan Velauther, 2025 ONSC 6877 (CanLII)
  Key Words: Rights and freedoms — Charter rights and remedies — Search and seizure — Whether s. 8 breach warranted sentence reduction under s. 24(1) — ICIT deployment unnecessary, excessive and disproportionate — Failure to conduct Threat Level Assessment — Strip searches, removal of clothing and property, dignity not preserved — s. 23.1, Ministry of Correctional Services Act, manner unreasonable — Sentence reduced
  Criminal and statutory offences — Sentencing — Joint submissions — Deference owed to a joint submission on sentence under Anthony‑Cook — Serious firearm and trafficking offences with prior firearm history — Court emphasising denunciation of ICIT Charter violations within sentencing — Whether proposed term is contrary to public interest — High deference applied — Joint submission accepted
  Criminal and statutory offences — Sentencing — Presentence custody conditions — Whether particularly harsh remand conditions mitigate sentence — Inmate left in boxer shorts, bedding delayed, property removed, pepper ball launchers displayed — Human dignity and proportionality considered, Nasogaluak cited — Conditions during entire duration of presentence custody treated as mitigating — Sentence reduced
• 2025-12-09 Canadian Pacific Railway Company v Canadian National Railway Company, 2025 ONSC 6886 (CanLII)
  Key Words: Procedure — Discovery refusals — Derailment investigation and privilege — Whether the plaintiff must answer questions about investigative steps, employee mistakes, and privileged materials — Names of knowledgeable persons vs generating evidence — Privilege confined to counsel email, report produced — Some questions refused, others ordered answered at continued discovery — Motions partly granted
  Procedure — Discovery scope — Relevance and proportionality — Historic detector reports and obligations to identify Transcona wheelsets — Whether requests from 2002 to 2020 are overly broad — Executive knowledge specifically pleaded and therefore discoverable — Questions on CEO awareness ordered answered, expansive detector report request refused — Motions partly granted
  Procedure — Relevance to pleadings — Overbreadth — Industry-wide data and long-term track records — Whether broad requests beyond instances when the railcar was in the plaintiff’s possession are relevant — Focus on pleaded occasions and timeframe around derailment — Historic DDCT counts and decade-long maintenance records refused — Motions partly granted
  Procedure — Costs — Motions on refusals — Divided success on three defendants’ motions — Whether costs should follow success where mixed results — Each party to bear own costs on one motion, contribution awarded on others — Fixed partial indemnity amounts set for Procor and NorFalco motions — Costs apportioned accordingly
• 2025-12-09 Webster v. Dinardo, 2025 ONSC 6903 (CanLII)
  Key Words: Procedure — Res judicata — Issue estoppel — Whether res judicata bars the plaintiff’s second summary judgment motion — Identity of issues and parties and finality established — Application of Toronto v. C.U.P.E., 2003 SCC 63 — Prior summary judgment determined loss‑of‑value damages — r. 21.01(3)(d) motion to strike grounded — Motion to strike granted, second summary judgment motion dismissed
  Procedure — Estoppel — Cause of action estoppel — Does cause of action estoppel preclude renewed loss‑of‑value damages? — Factors from Dosen and The Catalyst Capital Group Inc. applied — Same cause, reasonable diligence, and final judgment found — Obligation to advance all claims in prior motion confirmed — Relitigation barred — Motion to strike granted, second summary judgment motion dismissed
  Procedure — Abuse of process — Relitigation — Is the second summary judgment motion an abuse of process due to relitigation? — Attempt to re‑litigate damages previously dismissed — Court’s discretion to prevent misuse of process exercised — Reference to Glenrio Financing decision — Fairness concerns not engaged — Motion to strike granted, second summary judgment motion dismissed
  Procedure — Rules of Civil Procedure — Rule 20.07, “other relief” — Does r. 20.07 permit pursuit of “other relief” where the head of damages was previously dismissed? — Interaction with r. 25.06(9)(a) pleading requirements — “Other relief” does not override res judicata — No reservation to pursue new valuation evidence — Motion to strike granted, second summary judgment motion dismissed

Superior Court of Justice Divisional Court Recent Decisions

• 2025-12-09 Green v. Patel, 2025 ONSC 6867 (CanLII)
  Key Words: Procedure — Appeals and judicial review — Extension of time — Whether to extend time to appeal or bring judicial review — Rules of Civil Procedure r. 61.04 and Judicial Powers Procedure Act s. 5(2) — Enbridge Gas Distribution Inc. v. Froese factors applied — Intention, short delay, prejudice from non-payment, poor merits — Motion to extend time dismissed
  Procedure — Abuse of process — Quashing or dismissing proceedings — Whether proposed appeal and judicial review are being used to game the system — Persistent non-payment of rent and reliance on stays to remain in possession — Haye v. Siddiqui and Jayaraj v. Metcap considered — Pattern of vexatious litigation identified — Abuse of process found
  Procedure — Stays — Stay pending appeal — Whether the stay of enforcement of the eviction order should continue — Purpose of stay to preserve tenancies not to permit rent free occupation — Indicators of strategic delay assessed — Balancing prejudice to landlord — Stay lifted, eviction deferred briefly
  Administrative law — Tribunals — Landlord and Tenant Board review — Is an LTB review limited to procedural fairness rather than substantive issues? — Member followed Board policies and procedures — Allegations of bias bald and not raised appropriately — Section 210 of the Residential Tenancies Act noted, relevance rejected — Merits of judicial review poor
• 2025-12-09 Gordon-Kay v. Sharpe, 2025 ONSC 6856 (CanLII)
  Key Words: Statutory interpretation — Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 — s.50(1)(a) — Implied good faith — Does s.50(1)(a) require a genuine intent to demolish? — Modern approach to interpretation applied — Tenant‑protection purpose, ss.73(1)(a) and 202(1) considered — Interpretation within a range of acceptable outcomes for a specialised tribunal — Board’s reading reasonable — Appeal dismissed
  Procedure — Statutory appeal — Standard of review — RTA, s.210(1) — Questions of law only — Whether LTB’s findings reveal an error of law or palpable and overriding misapprehension — Deference to specialised tribunal interpreting its home statute — Reasonableness applied to legal interpretation — No reviewable error identified — Appeal dismissed
  Lease and tenancy — Termination for demolition — N13 notice — RTA, s.57(1)(c) — Whether Board had to consider s.57(1)(c) where tenant had not vacated — Former tenant requirement and vacancy preconditions unmet — Board not obliged to address inapplicable remedy — Unlawful eviction protections enforced — Appeal dismissed
• 2025-12-08 Vanderhoof v. Sakhawat, 2025 ONSC 6825 (CanLII)
  Key Words: Procedure — Appeals — Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 — Jurisdiction on statutory appeal — Does the appeal raise an error of law under RTA, s. 210 — Standard of review is correctness — Issues characterised as mixed fact and law, outside court’s jurisdiction — Divisional Court declines to interfere with Board’s findings — Appeal dismissed
  Lease and tenancy — Condominium conversion — Protection of existing tenants — Whether s. 51(1) RTA applied to prevent notice under s. 48 — Act is remedial, tenant protection focus, s. 3 prevails — Building a residential complex at time of application — Life lease assertions unsupported on record — Tenancy protected on conversion — Appeal dismissed
  Lease and tenancy — Exemptions — Burden of proof — Was the landlord required to demonstrate an exemption under s. 5 — Board found Act applied to the tenancy and residential complex — Insufficient evidence to displace application of the Act — Landlord did not meet burden to show exemption — Appeal dismissed
  Lease and tenancy — Authorities — Lifetime occupancy — Did reliance on Bory v. Bory constitute error — Board referenced Bory to address lifetime tenancies under s. 48 — No evidence clarifying nature of prior “life lease” interest — Reference not determinative and did not affect outcome — Board’s approach upheld — Appeal dismissed
• 2025-12-08 Salehi v. LeBlanc, 2025 ONSC 6854 (CanLII)
  Key Words: Administrative law — Judicial review — Jurisdiction of Divisional Court — Does the Divisional Court have jurisdiction to review orders of Superior Court judges? — Judicial Review Procedure Act s. 1 interpreted as limited to inferior courts — Bevan applied, Highwood referenced on public law review — Review avenue is appeal, not judicial review — Application dismissed
  Administrative law — Remedies — Adequate alternative remedy — Should judicial review be declined where appeal lies to the Court of Appeal? — Courts of Justice Act ss. 6, 19 and s. 19(1.2)(c) engaged — Amount in issue exceeds $50,000, appeal route to Court of Appeal — Discretion to refuse judicial review exercised — Application dismissed
  Procedure — Civil practice — Rule 2.1 dismissal — Is dismissal under r. 2.1 warranted as frivolous, vexatious or abuse of process? — Clearest of cases threshold from Scaduto and Mohammad — Absence of jurisdiction renders proceeding abusive per Berentschot and Edusei — Attenuated process properly invoked — Application dismissed under r. 2.1
  Procedure — Judicial impartiality — r. 2.1 case management — Did issuing a r. 2.1 notice demonstrate lack of impartiality? — Court may act on its own initiative under r. 2.1.01(3) — Preliminary concern does not predetermine outcome — Submissions reviewed and concerns not addressed — Allegation of bias rejected
• 2025-12-05 Canada Post Corporation v. Canadian Postmasters and Assistants Association, 2025 ONSC 6469 (CanLII)
  Key Words: Labour and employment — Collective agreements — Interpretation — Article 35.11 “Recovery of Overpayments” — Whether clause confers entitlement to recover or only sets process — Overpayments due to mistake of fact recoverable subject to available defences — Interpretation consistent with arbitral authorities and text — Arbitrator’s reading found reasonable — Application dismissed
  Labour and employment — Equitable doctrines — Estoppel — Whether estoppel precluded recovery of mistaken payments — Overpayments over lengthy period, no employee fault, no notice of recovery risk — Hardships when income believed higher recognised — Labour arbitrator’s flexibility in adapting equitable principles affirmed — Individualised detrimental reliance not required in grievance context — Application dismissed
  Administrative law — Judicial review — Reasonableness — Omission of B.M.P. Global Distribution Inc. v. Bank of Nova Scotia — Whether failure to address B.M.P. rendered Award unreasonable — Labour arbitration jurisprudence and specialised expertise considered — Decision justified, transparent and intelligible under Vavilov — No requirement to mirror court application of equitable doctrines — Application dismissed
  Administrative law — Judicial review — New issues on review — Unjust enrichment — Whether absence of tribunal analysis made Award unreasonable — Issue not raised before Arbitrator — Tribunal should address first per Alberta Teachers — Court declines to entertain new ground tied to specialised functions — Award not unreasonable on this basis — Application dismissed