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McNutt v. Draycott, 2014 ONSC 5363 (Ontario Superior Court of Justice) A Family Divided Over an Elderly Father's Care Peter Draycott was 94 years old. Despite his age and a diagnosis of dementia, he still lived in his own home with two of his four children, Geoffrey and Yolis, who cared for him daily. He dressed himself every morning in a suit jacket, tie, and dress pants — "in case something comes up," he told his care worker. He climbed the stairs to his bedroom about ten t

Wright v. Lallion, 2024 ONSC 4132 (Divisional Court) A $35,000 Order Made Without the Tenants Present Marcus Wright and Giusina D'Ella were tenants who had been paying approximately $1,900 per month in rent since October 2020. In September 2022, their landlord gave notice of a rent increase to $5,000 per month. A dispute erupted over whether the increase was proper, and the tenants stopped paying rent. The landlord filed applications with the Landlord and Tenant Board to term

Smith, 2017 CanLII 26483 (Immigration Appeal Division) A Family's Future Hanging in the Balance A Canadian woman wanted to sponsor her husband to come to Canada. They had two Canadian-born children together. Their marriage was genuine — even the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration conceded that point at the hearing. But there was a problem: more than seventeen years earlier, her husband had a brush with the law that resulted in a finding of inadmissibility on the grounds

McDonald v. Robb, 2025 ONCA 71 (Court of Appeal for Ontario) A Property Claim Dismissed Without Anyone Asking Grace McDonald had a claim for adverse possession over lakefront property. The case was moving through the courts with various motions from both sides. A scheduling order was made in November 2023 setting filing deadlines. On January 19, 2024, the parties appeared before the motion judge. The respondent was requesting a timetable for the outstanding matters and potent

Greaves v. Royal Bank of Canada, 2019 FC 994 (Federal Court of Canada) A Long-Serving Employee Terminated and Then Silenced Colette Greaves had worked at the Royal Bank of Canada for nearly two decades as a Project Coordinator in the Global Technology Infrastructure division. In June 2016, she was informed that she would be terminated. By September 2016, her employment was formally ended. Ms. Greaves believed she had been discriminated against on the basis of her national or

Alsous v. Shahin, 2024 ONCA 358 (Court of Appeal for Ontario) When the Date of Separation Determines Everything In family law, the date of separation can have enormous financial consequences. It determines the valuation date for the division of property, the duration of spousal support obligations, and the scope of assets that fall within the equalization calculation. In this case, the parties fundamentally disagreed about when their marriage had ended — the wife argued it wa

Paul v. Baker, 2025 ONSC 1306 and 2025 ONSC 4097 (Ontario Superior Court of Justice) Trapped in Joint Ownership Caralee Paul owned a property at 7 Main Street, Odessa, Ontario jointly with Jeffrey Baker. She wanted to sell. He did not. He was living in the property and had no intention of leaving. Without his cooperation, she was stuck — a 50% owner with no ability to realize the value of her investment. The respondent raised multiple defences and sought adjustments for his c

12001721 Canada Inc. v. Switzer, 2023 ONSC 2676 (Divisional Court) A Claim Thrown Out at a Settlement Conference A numbered company owned a townhouse that it rented to a group of tenants. When the tenants vacated the property in July 2021, the landlord discovered significant damage. In October 2021, the landlord filed a claim in Small Claims Court in Milton seeking compensation for the damage. The matter came on for a settlement conference in January 2022 — not a trial, but a

L.L. v. Canada Employment Insurance Commission, 2021 SST 683 (Social Security Tribunal, Appeal Division) Lost in Translation: When a Bad Interpreter Costs You Your Benefits L.L. was an Employment Insurance claimant who was accused of knowingly providing false or misleading information about her claim. Based on this finding, the Canada Employment Insurance Commission cancelled her benefit period, issued a warning, and demanded repayment of a large overpayment. The General Divi

L.C. v. Minister of Employment and Social Development, 2018 SST 266 (Social Security Tribunal, Appeal Division) Disabled, Denied, and Running Out of Time L.C. had completed high school and some post-secondary education. She had worked until 1995 when she was laid off because she could not complete her duties, even light ones. She suffered from extreme fatigue, chronic pain from spinal injuries, nausea, dizziness, cognitive challenges, rage, head injuries, and post-traumatic s

The allegations described in this post have not been proven in court. All individuals are presumed innocent until a court determines otherwise. Have You Had Problems with a Renovation Contractor in Ontario? Ken Wise & Associates has commenced a Small Claims Court action on behalf of an elderly and vulnerable Toronto homeowner arising from a renovation project. The defendants named in the court proceeding include Roberto Altamare and an individual known as Chris Irish Maughan.