Martini v. Nova Scotia (Community Services)

Martini v. Nova Scotia (Community Services) Court Court of Appeal Date 1999-09-21 Citation 1999 NSCA 106 Docket CA 152981 Judge/Registrar/Adjudicator Pugsley, Ronald N. (Honourable Justice); Glube, Constance R. (Honourable Chief Justice) (CA); Roscoe, Elizabeth A. (Honourable Justice) (CA) Document Type Decision Relations Library Sheet - Martini v. Nova Scotia (Community Services) - 1999 NSCA 106 - 1999-09-21 - Library Sheet Decision Content Date: 19990921 Docket: C.A. No. 152981 NOVA SCOTIA COURT OF APPEAL Cite as: Martini v. Nova Scotia (Community Services), 1999 NSCA 106 Glube, C.J.N.S.; Roscoe and Pugsley, JJ.A. BETWEEN: ) ) CARLO MARTINI ) Appellant appeared ) in person Appellant ) ) - and - ) ) COMMUNITY SERVICES, NOVA SCOTIA ) Alexander Ikejiani GOVERNMENT, ROYAL CANADIAN ) for the Respondents, MOUNTED POLICE (COLE HARBOUR ) Community Services, DETACHMENT), HONOURABLE FRANCENE ) Nova Scotia Government, COSMAN, MARK CAMERON, DAN POTTIE, ) Francene Cosman and STAFF SERGEANT RON NOSS, CORPORAL ) Mark Cameron WAYNE LATIMERE, GORDON KELLY, ) KATHY LOVE and CLARA BUCKLE ) Stephen K. Mont ) for the Respondents, Respondents ) RCMP, Dan Pottie, ) Staff Sergeant Noss and ) Corporal Latimere ) ) Robert L. Barnes, Q.C. ) for the Respondent, ) Gordon Kelly ) ) Roderick H. Rogers ) for the Respondent, ) Kathy Love ) ) Appeal Heard: ) September 21, 1999 ) ) Judgment Delivered: ) September 21, 1999 THE COURT: The appeal is dismissed with costs as per oral reasons for judgment of Roscoe, J.A.; Glube, C.J.N.S. and Pugsley, J.A., concurring. The reasons for judgment of the Court were delivered orally by: ROSCOE, J.A.: [1] On October 28, 1997, the appellant’s common law wife, Clara Buckle, left him and, taking their infant daughter, moved to Quebec. On October 31, 1997 by order of the Nova Scotia Family Court the appellant was granted interim custody of the child on the basis of an ex parte application. A Quebec court later granted interim custody to Ms. Buckle after a hearing at which the appellant was present and represented by counsel. The appellant has attempted through various means to have criminal proceedings brought against Ms. Buckle and has sought damages in a civil action against several parties he believes should have prevented Ms. Buckle from leaving with the child. The statement of claim, issued on November 16, 1998, against 11 defendants alleges that each of them failed to protect his daughter from being “kidnapped” by her mother, and that certain of them filed false affidavits, obstructed justice, failed to respect court orders, obtained information illegally, and possessed stolen property. [2] On December 22 and 23, 1998, Justice M. Heather Robertson, in Chambers, heard several interlocutory applications: ­ an application by the appellant to extend the time to file Answers to Demands for Particulars filed by the defendants; ­ an application by the appellant to sever the actions against the various defendants; ­ an application by the appellant for an order removing the solicitor for the Department of Justice on the basis of a conflict of interest; ­ and an application by the respondent Gordon Kelly pursuant to Civil Procedure Rule 14.25(1) to dismiss the action against him on the basis that it did not disclose a cause of action. [3] Justice Robertson dismissed the three applications made by the appellant and granted the application made by the respondent Kelly. It is from those orders that the appellant now appeals. [4] Other judges sitting in Chambers have subsequently dismissed the actions against Community Services, the Nova Scotia Government, Mark Cameron, Francene Cosman, Kathy Love, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Dan Pottie, Staff Sergeant Ron Noss and Corporal Wayne Latimere. [5] After considering the record and the submissions of the appellant and the respondents, we have come to the unanimous conclusion that the Chambers judge did not err in principle or in the exercise of her discretion, nor has the appellant proven the existence of any error of law or patent injustice requiring the intervention of this Court. The appeal is dismissed with costs and disbursements to the respondents in the total amount of $800.00 to be divided equally among each group of respondents represented by separate counsel. Roscoe, J.A. Concurred in: Glube, C.J.N.S. Pugsley, J.A.