Canada Case Law

S.T.H. v. Ivanhoe Cambridge Inc.

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

Defendants admitted liability for assault, battery, false arrest and false imprisonment; on the evidence the guards used excessive and unjustified force causing compensable physical injury and chronic PTSD; plaintiff did not fail to mitigate; aggravated harm is reflected in an augmented non-pecuniary award; Paladin's training and investigatory failures constituted conduct referable to the employer warranting punitive damages against Paladin alone; damages quantified accordingly.

Source excerpt

• Assault and battery
• False arrest
• False imprisonment
• Aggravated damages
• Punitive damages
• Causation

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Dhillon v. Randhawa

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

On the balance of probabilities the defendant did not push or throw the plaintiff to the ground; the plaintiff most likely tripped on a curb. The defendant did, during a struggle to obtain the plaintiff's phone, twist/grasp the plaintiff's right hand and thereby caused a partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament of the right thumb. The plaintiff failed to prove that the defendant's conduct caused her long‑term psychological injuries because the psychiatric opinion relied upon lacked an adequate factual foundation (treating records and pre‑existing history were not provided). Award damages…

Source excerpt

• Assault and battery
• Causation
• Damages
• Credibility
• Expert evidence
• Health care costs recovery act

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Ocean v Bennett

Court

Supreme Court of Nova Scotia

On the evidence and law the court found unjust enrichment in relation to the IP property but not the SB property; no juristic reason prevented recovery and a joint family venture was not established, so equal division of net equity of IP was ordered (value fixed at average of appraisals $732,000 less encumbrances and disposition costs yielding net equity $687,426 and equalization to applicant $343,713); family‑violence findings establish applicant (Ocean) as perpetrator and victim (Bennett) as recipient of abuse, the novel tort of family violence is not recognized here and assault/battery dam…

Source excerpt

• Unjust enrichment
• Spousal support
• Family violence
• Coercive control
• Assault and battery
• Property valuation

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Fleury v. Budd

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The court found the parties were spouses under the Family Law Act, divided the gain on excluded property equally, and dismissed the tort claims.

• Spousal status under family law act
• Division of family property (fla ss.81,84,87,95)
• Valuation date for family property
• Excluded property (fla s.85)
• Cohabitation agreement / oral agreement
• Similar fact and collateral evidence

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Kovach-Durham v. Ampong

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The court dismissed the plaintiff’s assault, battery and defamation claims, found no vicarious liability, and ordered removal of related social media posts.

• Assault and battery
• Defamation (publication, justification)
• Vicarious liability (employer/independent contractor)
• Pleadings compliance
• Remedies (injunction, removal of online content)
• Costs

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Dang v. Canada (Attorney General)

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The court dismissed certification of a proposed Fairy Creek class action, holding the class was overbroad and the alleged RCMP conduct required individualized assessments.

• Charter breaches (ss.2,7,8,9)
• Exclusion zones and checkpoints
• Catch-and-release detention policy
• False imprisonment
• Assault and battery
• Conversion and trespass

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Gokey v. Usher

Court

British Columbia Court of Appeal

The Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal arising from a long-running neighbour dispute over a shared well, upholding findings of nuisance, assault, trespass, damages and an injunction.

• Nuisance
• Trespass
• Assault and battery
• Punitive damages
• Aggravated damages
• Credibility findings

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Grenfal v. British Columbia (Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General)

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The court held that releasing a police service dog to arrest a kneeling suspect was not justified under s. 25, constituting assault and battery and warranting damages.

• Assault and battery
• Police service dog (psd) deployment
• Section 25 criminal code justification
• Excessive force
• Damages assessment
• Assault-and-battery

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Hunt v. Hunt

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The court found one proven battery in a family-law dispute, dismissed retroactive child support, and ordered unequal family property division, support, pension adjustments, divorce, and tailored protection orders.

• Assault and battery
• Sexual assault
• Spousal support
• Retroactive spousal support
• Child support jurisdiction
• Division of family property

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Hammond v. Holtz

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

Family law trial on property division, support, and tort claims. The court ordered an unequal division of the Maple Ridge property, found sexual battery, and awarded child support-related lump sums.

• Cohabitation agreement enforceability
• Division of family property
• Significant unfairness under s.95 fla
• Spousal support entitlement
• Lump sum child support
• Section 7 expenses

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