Case information
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40228
Ralph Peter Rieder zu Wallburg, et al. v. Plista Gmbh, Michel Gagnon, Stephanie Kohnert and Stefan Klimek
(Ontario) (Civil) (By Leave)
Docket
Judgments on applications for leave to appeal are rendered by the Court, but are not necessarily unanimous.
| Date | Proceeding | Filed By (if applicable) |
|---|---|---|
| 2023-02-07 | Close file on Leave | |
| 2023-02-07 | Correspondence (sent by the Court) to, all parties, Re: certificate of taxation | |
| 2023-02-07 | Certificate of taxation issued to, Duncan C. Boswell | |
| 2023-02-07 | Decision on the bill of costs, in the amount of $1,079.06, Reg | |
| 2023-02-07 | Submission of the bill of costs, Reg | |
| 2023-01-04 | Bill of costs, (Letter Form), Completed on: 2023-02-03, (Printed version filed on 2023-01-16) | Plista Gmbh, Michel Gagnon, Stephanie Kohnert and Stefan Klimek |
| 2022-12-08 | Copy of formal judgment sent to Registrar of the Court of Appeal and all parties | |
| 2022-12-08 | Judgment on leave sent to the parties | |
| 2022-12-08 |
Judgment of the Court on the application for leave to appeal, The motion for an extension of time to serve and file the application for leave to appeal is granted. The application for leave to appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal for Ontario, Number C69668, 2022 ONCA 281, dated April 8, 2022, is dismissed with costs. Dismissed, with costs |
|
| 2022-12-08 |
Decision on motion to extend time to file and /or serve the leave application, See decision on application Granted |
|
| 2022-10-24 | All materials on application for leave submitted to the Judges, for consideration by the Court | |
| 2022-10-24 | Submission of motion to extend time to file and/ or serve the leave application, for consideration by the Court | |
| 2022-06-21 | Letter acknowledging receipt of a complete application for leave to appeal, FILE OPENED 2022-06-21 | |
| 2022-06-15 | Certificate (on limitations to public access) | Plista Gmbh, Michel Gagnon, Stephanie Kohnert and Stefan Klimek |
| 2022-06-15 | Notice of name | Plista Gmbh, Michel Gagnon, Stephanie Kohnert and Stefan Klimek |
| 2022-06-15 | Respondent's response on the application for leave to appeal, (Letter Form), Completed on: 2022-06-21, (Printed version filed on 2022-06-20) | Plista Gmbh, Michel Gagnon, Stephanie Kohnert and Stefan Klimek |
| 2022-06-08 | Motion to extend the time to file and or serve the application for leave to appeal, (Book Form), Completed on: 2022-06-21 | Ralph Peter Rieder zu Wallburg |
| 2022-06-08 | Application for leave to appeal, (Book Form), (2 volumes), Completed on: 2022-06-21 | Ralph Peter Rieder zu Wallburg |
Parties
Please note that in the case of closed files, the “Status” column reflects the status of the parties at the time of the proceedings. For more information about the proceedings and about the dates when the file was open, please consult the docket of the case in question.
Main parties
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Wallburg, Ralph Peter Rieder zu | Applicant | Active |
| ADMG Publishing Ltd. | Applicant | Active |
v.
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Plista Gmbh, Michel Gagnon, Stephanie Kohnert and Stefan Klimek | Respondent | Active |
Counsel
Party: Wallburg, Ralph Peter Rieder zu
Counsel
464 Big Bay Point Road
Unit B
Barrie, Ontario
L4N 3Z4
Telephone: (705) 721-5291
FAX: (705) 721-6699
Email: douglas@spillerlaw.ca
Party: ADMG Publishing Ltd.
Counsel
464 Big Bay Point Road
Unit B
Barrie, Ontario
L4N 3Z4
Telephone: (705) 721-5291
FAX: (705) 721-6699
Email: douglas@spillerlaw.ca
Party: Plista Gmbh, Michel Gagnon, Stephanie Kohnert and Stefan Klimek
Counsel
Elizabeth Kurz
1 First Canadian Place
100 King Street West, Suite 1600
Toronto, Ontario
M5X 1G5
Telephone: (416) 862-7525
FAX: (416) 862-7661
Email: duncan.boswell@gowlingwlg.com
Agent
160 Elgin Street
Suite 2600
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 1C3
Telephone: (613) 786-8695
FAX: (613) 788-3509
Email: lynne.watt@gowlingwlg.com
Summary
Keywords
Courts — Jurisdiction — Forum non conveniens — Motion judge determining that breach of contract claim was pleaded in tort and defamation to obtain jurisdictional advantage — Whether, in deciding motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction, court is bound by plaintiff’s characterization of an action
Summary
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.
Applicant Ralph Peter Rieder zu Wallburg is the sole shareholder and president of the applicant corporation ADMG Publishing Ltd., which operates a network of websites (together, “Rieder and ADMG”). Respondent Plista GMBH (“Plista”) is a German corporation in the online advertising business; the individual respondents, Michel Gagnon, Stefanie Kohnert, and Stefan Klimek, are Plista employees working in Germany.
In February 2019, ADMG entered into a contract to host Plista’s advertisements on its network of websites. Plista paid ADMG a monthly amount that varied depending on the number of times its advertisements were “clicked” by visitors. An essential term of the contract stipulated that the jurisdiction for dealing with contractual matters was Germany.
In July 2020, Plista made allegations of fraud — suggesting that ADMG had fabricated the number of clicks on its advertisements — and terminated the contract.
Rieder and ADMG brought an action before the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario alleging a variety of tortious conduct by the respondents. Plista and the individual respondents sought to have the claim dismissed for lack of jurisdiction, or stayed on the basis that Ontario was not the appropriate forum.
A motion judge dismissed the claim for lack of jurisdiction. In the alternative, the motion judge held that Germany, and not Ontario, was the appropriate forum in which to conduct the litigation. The Court of Appeal upheld the motion judge’s decision.
Lower court rulings
Ontario Superior Court of Justice
2021 ONSC 4458, CV-20-001338
Motion to dismiss the action granted.
Court of Appeal for Ontario
C69668, 2022 ONCA 281
Appeal dismissed.
Memorandums of argument on application for leave to appeal
The memorandums of argument on an application for leave to appeal will be posted here 30 days after leave to appeal has been granted unless they contain personal information, information that is subject to a publication ban, or any other information that is not part of the public record. You may also obtain copies of the memorandum by filing out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613‑996‑7933 or at 1‑888‑551‑1185.
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Downloadable PDFs
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Related links
Factums on appeal
The factums of the appellant, the respondent and the intervener will be posted here at least 2 weeks before the hearing unless they contain personal information, information that is subject to a publication ban, or any other information that is not part of the public record. You may also obtain copies of factums by filling out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613‑996‑7933 or at 1‑888‑551‑1185.
If you have questions about a factum or want permission to use a factum, please contact the author of the factum directly. Their contact information appears on the first page of each factum.
Downloadable PDFs
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