Case information

Administrative law — Judicial review — Appeals — Boards and tribunals — Administrative Housing Tribunal — Procedure — Evidence — Tenant applicant ordered by provincial housing tribunal to pay unpaid rent to landlord respondent — Tenant’s application for judicial review dismissed — Landlord’s application to dismiss appeal granted, and appeal dismissed — Whether tribunal, Superior Court and Court of Appeal erred in failing to properly consider applicant’s evidence — Whether bank statements and witness statements are considered valid evidence for proof of debt payment — Whether courts below need to look at evidence in question to determine whether tribunal committed error — Whether evidence sufficient to establish reasonable chance of success on judicial review or appeal — If tribunal committed serious error, whether tenant’s judicial review application should be reinstated — Act respecting the Administrative Housing Tribunal, RLRQ, c. T-15.01, arts. 18, 73, 91 — Code of Civil Procedure, CQLR, c. C-25.01, art. 30.

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.

The applicant/tenant, Sirajali Jafarali Gadhia, rented premises from the respondent/landlord, Ilan Gewurz (operating as a business, Nuntip Deux inc.). Following a dispute over unpaid rent, the Administrative Housing Tribunal of Quebec issued two decisions: the first one ordered the tenant to pay the landlord $9,375.00 in unpaid rent, and the second one dismissed the tenant’s application to revoke the first decision. The tenant then filed an application for judicial review of both Tribunal decisions in Superior Court, and the landlord brought an application seeking summary dismissal of the tenant’s judicial review.

A Superior Court judge granted the landlord’s application, and dismissed the tenant’s judicial review. A panel at the Court of Appeal unanimously granted the landlord’s application for summary dismissal of the tenant’s appeal, and dismissed the tenant’s appeal of the Superior Court decision.