Appeal - Standard of Review (SOR) - Associate Judge
. Auciello v. La
In Auciello v. La (Div Court, 2023) the Divisional Court considers the appellate SOR from an associate judge's (formerly master's) ruling:
Standard of Review
[71] There is no disagreement about the applicable standard of review. The standard of review on an appeal from a judge was set by the Supreme Court of Canada in Housen v. Nikolaisen, 2002 SCC 33. The same standard applies to appeals from decisions of an associate judge. See: Zeitoun v. Economical Insurance Group, 2009 ONCA 415.
[72] Under the Housen standard of review, the appeal court will review without deference decisions by an associate judge on questions of law. Decisions on issues of law must be correct. But, where a finding of an associate judge is challenged on a question of fact or on the applicability of the law to the facts as found (i.e. a questions of mixed fact and law), then the appeal court will generally defer to the findings of the associate judge.
[73] Findings of an associate judge on questions of fact and mixed fact and law will be overruled only where the associate judge made a palpable and overriding error in making the challenged findings.
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