Case information

Constitutional law — Charter of Rights — Right to equality — Courts — Judges — Impartiality — Reasonable apprehension of bias — Civil procedure — Costs — Security for costs — Applicant commencing action against respondents for copyright infringement — Federal Court dismissing applicant’s appeals from two case management orders, and ordering applicant to post security for respondents’ costs — Federal Court of Appeal dismissing applicant’s appeals — Whether Vavilov framework and standards of reasonableness should apply to all decisions in Federal Court, Federal Court of Appeal, and other courts — Whether judicial decisions must be subject to higher standards of factual accuracy, and whether court administrators should hire independent fact-checkers to increase public trust — Whether presumption of impartiality serves justice when politicians appoint former colleagues as judges — Whether courts should have stronger tools to deter false allegations, diversions and strategic procedural attrition to bury smaller litigants in costs and paperwork — Federal Court Rules, SOR/98-106, rr. 416, 417.

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 brought an action for copyright infringement against the respondents. After several pre-trial motions brought by the applicant resulted in costs orders against him, which went unpaid, the respondents brought a motion for an order requiring the applicant to post security for costs.

A judge of the Federal Court granted the respondents’ motion, ordered the applicant to post security for costs, directed that the applicant be prevented from taking any further steps in his action until such security is posted, and ordered that, should security for costs not be posted within 60 days, the action could be dismissed upon the respondents’ request. The applicant appealed the security for costs decision, as well as two other Federal Court decisions dismissing his appeals from earlier interlocutory orders concerning examinations for discovery. The Federal Court of Appeal unanimously dismissed the applicant’s appeal from all three Federal Court decisions.