Simon's Megalomaniacal Legal Resources

RTA - Appeal - Quashing

. Abdalla et. Al. v. Koirala

In Abdalla et. Al. v. Koirala (Div Court, 2023) the Divisional Court considered (and allowed) a motion to quash an RTA s.210 appeal, in part here for lack of appeal merit:

The appeal is devoid of any merit

[36] Lack of merit is an alternative basis on which an appeal may be quashed: Mubarak v. Toronto Community Housing Corporation, 2022 ONSC 382 at para. 28. The question on a motion to quash is whether the appeal is “manifestly devoid of merit”: Schmidt v. Toronto Dominion Bank (1995), 1995 CanLII 3502 (ON CA), 24 O.R. (3d) 1 (C.A.), at para. 6. Because this is a drastic finding, quashing an appeal for lack for merit should not be done lightly.

[37] An appeal from a decision of the Board is only available on a question of law: Section 210(1) of the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, S.O. 2006, c. 17. It is appropriate to quash an appeal from an order of the Board where the appeal does not raise a question of law: Mubarak at para. 30; Solomon v. Levy, 2015 ONSC 2556 (Div. Ct.), at paras. 33-34; and Mahdieh v. Chen, 2019 ONSC 4218 (Div. Ct.), at para. 8.

. Abdalla et. Al. v. Koirala

In Abdalla et. Al. v. Koirala (Div Court, 2023) the Divisional Court considered (and allowed) a LL's motion to quash, here on 'abuse of process' grounds (abuse of the automatic stay on appeal):

The appeal is an abuse of process

[30] Section 134(3) of the Courts of Justice Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C.43, provides that, on a motion, “a court to which an appeal is taken may, in a proper case, quash the appeal”. An appeal may be quashed where it amounts to an abuse of process: Oladunjoye v. Jonker, 2021 ONSC 1199 (CanLII) at para. 17.

[31] A litigant who brings an appeal from an order of the Board to get an automatic stay of an eviction order, is abusing the process of the court: Regan v Latimer, 2016 ONSC 4132 (Div. Ct.), at para. 25; and Wilkinson v. Seritsky, 2020 ONSC 5048 (Div. Ct.) at para. 34. Where a tenant has failed to pay rent for a persistent and lengthy period without a reasonable explanation or any intention to remedy the situation, this may amount to evidence that the tenant’s appeal is an abuse of process at the expense of the landlord: Wilkinson, at para. 34 and Oladunjoye, at para. 27.