Canada Case Law

Brinton v. Nova Scotia (Provincial Court)

Court

Supreme Court of Nova Scotia

Assuming the pleaded facts at their highest, the Chief Judge’s actions in assigning judicial duties, implementing courtroom vaccination practices, requesting medical information and related measures fell within her judicial/administrative function and are immune from civil suit; the civil claim therefore disclosed no reasonable cause of action and was plainly unsustainable under Rule 13.03; it also constituted an abuse of process because the same issues had already been adjudicated and dismissed by the Judicial Council; separately, the Crown could not be vicariously liable for an independent…

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• Judicial immunity
• Abuse of process / relitigation
• Vicarious liability
• Judicial independence
• Charter damages
• Summary judgment on pleadings

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Rathwell v. Shorey

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

Rear-end collision damages trial. The court found soft tissue injuries and psychological sequelae, but no concussion, and awarded $544,110 in damages.

• Mild traumatic brain injury / concussion
• Whiplash
• Causation
• Non-pecuniary damages
• Loss of earning capacity
• Future care costs

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Klimek v. Lockhart

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The court held that a rear-end collision materially aggravated the plaintiff’s pre-existing pain conditions, found the injuries indivisible, and awarded reduced damages.

• Causation
• Divisibility of injuries
• General damages
• Past and future loss of earning capacity
• Loss of housekeeping capacity
• Cost of future care

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Dhaliwal v. Canada (Attorney General)

Court

Federal Court

The Federal Court granted judicial review of an RCMP grievance decision, finding procedural unfairness and unreasonableness after considering a similar prior grievance decision not in the record.

• Judicial review
• Procedural fairness
• Reasonableness review
• Medically-assisted procreation benefits
• Discrimination (sex and disability)
• Judicial-review

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Durdle (Re)

Court

Supreme Court of Nova Scotia

The appeal was allowed because the Registrar erred in law and committed palpable and overriding factual error by excluding CPP disability benefits, wage loss replacement payments and severance/retiring allowance from s.68 total income without evidentiary basis tying them to compensatory damages or other statutory exclusions; absent such evidence these payments are exigible under s.68 and the Registrar's decision was set aside.

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• Discharge
• Section 68 total income
• Cpp disability benefits
• Wage loss replacement
• Severance/retiring allowance
• Standard of review

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Sahota v. Slupskyy

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

Court held the 2016 rear-end collision materially aggravated pre-existing soft-tissue injuries and awarded damages for pain, past and future earning loss, special damages, and future care.

• Causation
• Damage assessment
• Non-pecuniary damages
• Loss of earning capacity
• Special damages (homemaker)
• Cost of future care

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Canadian Elevator Industry Welfare Trust Fund v. Skinner

Court

Nova Scotia Court of Appeal

The Court allowed the appeal and set aside the Board of Inquiry's finding of discrimination because the Board applied an incorrect analytical approach, failed to require or demonstrate a connection that the denial was "based on" the complainant's disability, and unreasonably substituted individual medical need for the statutory comparator/factor analysis; the Board's decision fell outside a range of reasonable outcomes and was legally unreasonable.

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• Indirect discrimination
• Prima facie test
• Based on/factor connection
• Accommodation
• Benefit plan coverage limits
• Standard of review

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R. C. v. Minister of Employment and Social Development

Court

Social Security Tribunal of Canada

Grant leave to appeal limited to an arguable legal error: the General Division may have failed to consider whether the applicant's efforts to obtain employment were unsuccessful because of his health; all other grounds lack a reasonable chance of success and are dismissed.

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• Leave to appeal
• Natural justice
• Disability benefits
• Evidence admissibility
• Employability

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King v. Canada (Attorney General)

Court

Federal Court

The Federal Court dismissed a judicial review challenging recovery of education reimbursements after a CAF member retired outside Canada.

• Entitlement interpretation
• Standard of review
• Statutory and policy interpretation
• Recovery of benefits
• Judicial-review
• Standard-of-review

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U.S. Steel Canada Inc. (Re)

Court

Court of Appeal for Ontario

Leave to appeal was denied because the CCAA judge, possessing broad discretion under s.11, properly exercised that discretion by weighing evidence and settlement discussions and by ordering a one-time payment of $2.7 million; the proposed appeal lacked prima facie merit and the issue was not of significance to insolvency practice, so appellate intervention was not justified.

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• Ccaa leave to appeal
• Other post-employment benefits (opebs)
• Judicial discretion under s.11 ccaa
• Reinstatement of benefits
• Costs

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