Case information

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Case summaries are prepared by the Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Canada (Law Branch). Please note that summaries are not provided to the Judges of the Court. They are placed on the Court file and website for information purposes only.

Evidence - Admissibility - Hearsay evidence - Judgments and orders - Interlocutory orders - Anton Piller order - Requirements for order - Injunctions - Mareva injunction - Whether the Court of Appeal erred in law in disallowing the evidentiary use of prior judicial determination, and more particularly, whether it erred in holding that the Rowbotham findings, except to the extent that they were binding and met the tests for issue estoppel or abuse of process, were wholly inadmissible for any purpose - Whether the Court of Appeal erred in interfering with the inherent jurisdiction of a superior court judge to defer until trial the decision as to the final evidentiary use of the uncontested findings of a prior judicial decision of a fellow superior court judge.

Ripudaman Singh Malik (“Mr. Malik”) was charged in connection with the 1985 Air India bombing. He entered into a series of agreements with the Appellant for assistance in funding his defence costs. When Mr. Malik failed to transfer his assets to the Appellant as required by the agreements, the Appellant gave notice it would terminate the funding. Mr. Malik brought an application seeking relief pursuant to the decision in R. v. Rowbotham (1988), 41 C.C.C. (3d) 1, 25 O.A.C. 321. Madam Justice Stromberg-Stein dismissed Mr. Malik’s application on the basis that he failed to discharge the onus of establishing that he was not in a position to contribute to funding his defence, and that he had disentitled himself to Rowbotham funding by his actions: 2003 BCSC 1439, 111 C.R.R. (2d) 40. The Appellant ultimately brought an action against the Respondents and others seeking recovery of the funds provided, and applied ex parte for a Mareva injunction and an Anton Piller order, relying on affidavit evidence and the findings from 2003 BCSC 1439.