Case information

None.

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.

Judgments and orders Summary judgments Civil procedure Amended Ontario Rules of Civil Procedure changed summary judgment mechanism Appellant appealing to Court of Appeal to have summary judgment set aside Court of Appeal examining Rule 20 and establishing “full appreciation test” Court of Appeal dismissing appellant’s appeal to set aside summary judgment Court of Appeal finding future cases of this nature requiring a trial and should not be decided by summary judgment Whether the Court of Appeal engaged in prospective overruling when granting summary judgment against the appellant Whether courts possess the discretion to prospectively overrule in private law cases If courts may prospectively overrule in private law cases, whether it was appropriate for the Court of Appeal to do so in this case.

In the months following the amendments to Rule 20 of the Ontario Rules of Civil Procedure, there was controversy and uncertainty as to whether it is appropriate for a motion judge to use the new powers conferred by the amended Rule 20 to decide an action on the basis of the evidence presented on a motion for summary judgment. To provide guidance to the profession, the Ontario Court of Appeal convened a five judge panel to hear five appeals from decisions under the amended rule. In addition to hearing from counsel representing the parties on the appeals, the court appointed five amicus curiae to provide submissions on how the amended rule should be interpreted and applied. One of the appeals the Court of Appeal heard was the appellant, Mr. Hryniak’s motion to set aside the summary judgment that had been ordered by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice based on the amended Rule 20. The Court of Appeal dismissed Mr. Hryniak’s appeal.