Recent Newmarket Decisions Found on CanLII - January 2026
Case summaries are CanLII AI-Generated
Civil
Vaughan v. Chen, 2026 ONSC 94 - Justice Healey
The Court denied a motion to extend the time to appeal, citing the appellant's unreasonable delay, lack of merit in the proposed appeal, and prejudice to the respondent. Costs were awarded against the appellant due to vexatious conduct throughout the proceedings.
Tallman v. Miller, 2026 ONSC 77 - Justice Healey
The Court awarded damages and costs to sellers after the buyer breached a real estate purchase agreement by failing to pay the deposit and complete the transaction. The sellers were entitled to recover the difference in market value, carrying costs, and prejudgment interest.
Criminal
York (Regional Municipality) v. Tran, 2026 ONCJ 35 - Justice Kenkel
The Court considered whether the Accused was fit to conduct his defence due to mental health concerns. While the Accused demonstrated sufficient capacity at the hearing, the Court ordered a psychiatric examination to ensure meaningful participation in future proceedings.
R. v. Uthayakumar, 2026 ONCJ 24 - Justice Prutschi
The Court sentenced the Accused to 24 months imprisonment for possessing a loaded firearm and fleeing police, emphasizing public safety, denunciation, and deterrence. A conditional sentence was deemed inappropriate due to the aggravating factors, including the dangerous attempt to evade police with the firearm.
R. v. White, 2026 ONCJ 27 - Justice Bacchus
A lawyer was convicted of fraud and uttering forged documents after providing clients with falsified court endorsements and correspondence to mislead them about the status of their cases. The Court rejected the lawyer's mental health defence, finding his actions deliberate and deceitful. Two obstruction of justice charges were dismissed.
R. v. Mehanathan, 2026 ONCJ 12 - Justice Kenkel
In an impaired driving case, the Court found insufficient evidence to identify the accused as the driver beyond a reasonable doubt. Inconsistent witness testimony and weak circumstantial evidence undermined the Crown's case, leading to dismissal of the charge. Charter breaches regarding the right to counsel were noted but did not affect the outcome.
R. v. Sarwar, 2026 ONCJ 14 - Justice Kenkel
The Court found the detention, arrest, and vehicle search of an uncooperative driver lawful under the Highway Traffic Act. The accused's refusal to identify himself and resistance to arrest obstructed police in their lawful duties. Allegations of police misconduct were unsupported by evidence. The accused was found guilty of obstruction.
R. v. Goodman, 2026 ONSC 59 - Justice Cameron
The Court sentenced the Accused to life imprisonment with 17 years of parole ineligibility for second-degree murder, emphasizing denunciation and deterrence. Aggravating factors included the unprovoked nature of the crime, firearm use, and disregard for court orders. Mitigating factors included systemic racism, a difficult upbringing, and harsh pre-trial custody conditions.
R. v. Mirilavasani, 2026 ONCJ 5 - Justice Kenkel
The Court found the accused guilty of impaired driving, ruling the evidence proved impairment beyond a reasonable doubt. While a minor Charter breach occurred due to delayed right to counsel advice, it did not warrant exclusion of evidence or affect the trial's fairness.
Family
G.P.R. v. A.K., 2026 ONSC 409 - Justice Finlayson
In a family law dispute, the Court awarded $220,000 in costs to the mother due to the father's bad faith conduct and her partial success. The father was also ordered to pay $5,256.33 in section 7 expenses. His post-trial motion to rent out the property was dismissed.
X.L. v. Z.L. et al, 2026 ONSC 347 - Justice Jarvis
The Court awarded costs to the wife, finding her largely successful on parenting, equalization, and fraudulent conveyance claims. Costs were reduced for divided success and unreasonable positions. AI-generated submissions by two respondents led to additional sanctions. Respondents' failure to provide proper cost submissions impacted the Court's assessment.
Carter v Carter, 2026 ONCA 29 - On appeal from the judgments of Justice J.A. Finlayson of the Superior Court of Justice, dated October 1, 2024 and April 4, 2025, with reasons reported at https://canlii.ca/t/k73972024 ONSC 5414 and 2025 ONSC 2121.
[2] Even amongst this minority of high conflict cases, the present litigation is an outlier. Since commencing the litigation over 15 years ago, the appellant has been found to have repeatedly engaged in serious, deliberate and flagrant misconduct, including chronic non-disclosure, diversion of assets, lying to the court, and deliberate obfuscation. By the time the matter came to trial in May 2024, at least 97 endorsements or court orders had been made, not including related support enforcement proceedings and foreign proceedings brought by the respondent.
