In civil litigation, the ultimate goal is to obtain a final order granting a remedy for the successful party. But what if the final order is under appeal, and the appellant stands to suffer prejudice from the order’s effects while they wait for their day in appeals court? What recourse is available to appellants to limit their harm from an order that, in their view, was incorrect in the first place? The Ontario Court of Appeal was recently tasked with answering this question in Temagami (Municipality) v. Temagami Barge Limited, 2024 ONCA 859. The respondents successfully brought an application for a permanent injunction which prohibited the appellants from conducting certain commercial activities on their property. While the parties’ appeal was waiting to be heard before the Ontario Court of Appeal (the “Court”), these prohibitions would remain in effect, to the detriment of the appellants’ business. As such, the appellants … Read More
Do it, Don’t Just Say it! Court of Appeal refuses to Rule on Arbitration Clause
On a recent motion before the Court of Appeal in Paulpillai Estate v. Yusuf, 2020 ONCA 655 (CanLII), Jamal J.A. clarifies that a party needs to bring a motion if it wants the proceeding to be referred to arbitration. In the underlying decision, Paulpillai v. Yusuf, 2020 ONSC 851 (CanLII), the motion judge noted that the responding parties “have maintained in their affidavit evidence that the matter should have proceeded by way of arbitration, but at no time did they bring a motion seeking to stay these proceedings or to compel the Applicants to proceed by way of arbitration”. Accordingly, the motion judge found that the responding parties have waived their right to seek to have the issues in the action determined by way of arbitration. In agreement with the motion judge, Jamal J.A., writing for the Court of Appeal, clarifies that, even though (a) there was an arbitration clause … Read More