Case information
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42170
William McCormack v. Bryce Evans, et al.
(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) |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-19 | Notice of appeal, (Letter Form), Completed on: 2026-06-19, (Printed version filed on 2026-06-19) | William McCormack |
| 2026-06-02 |
Correspondence (sent by the Court) to, all parties; by the REGISTRAR: Further to the judgment of May 21, 2026, granting leave to appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal for Ontario, Number COA-23-CV-0948, 2025 ONCA 767, dated November 13, 2025, the schedule for serving and filing the material is set as follows: a) The appellant shall serve and file his notice of appeal on or before June 22, 2026. a) The appellant shall serve and file his factum, record and book of authorities, if any, on or before August 17, 2026. b) The Respondents shall serve and file his factum, record and book of authorities, if any, on or before October 13, 2026. b) Any person wishing to intervene in this appeal under Rule 55 of the Rules of the Supreme Court of Canada shall serve and file a motion for leave to intervene on or before September 14, 2026. c) The appellant and respondents shall serve and file their response(s), if any, to the motions for leave to intervene on or before September 24, 2026. d) Replies to any responses to the motions for leave to intervene shall be served and filed on or before October 2, 2026. e) Any intervener granted leave to intervene under Rule 59 of the Rules of the Supreme Court of Canada shall serve and file its respective factum and book of authorities, if any, on or before November 20, 2026. f) Any attorney general intervening in the appeal under Rule 33(4) of the Rules of the Supreme Court of Canada shall serve and file their factum and book of authorities, if any, on or before November 9, 2026. g) The hearing date will be confirmed following a determination by the Court of its hearing schedule and you will be advised accordingly. |
|
| 2026-05-21 | Copy of formal judgment sent to Registrar of the Court of Appeal and all parties | |
| 2026-05-21 | Judgment on leave sent to the parties | |
| 2026-05-21 |
Judgment of the Court on the application for leave to appeal, The application for leave to appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal for Ontario, Number COA-23-CV-0948, 2025 ONCA 767, dated November 13, 2025, is granted. The schedule to serve and file appeal documents will be established by the Registrar. Granted |
|
| 2026-04-20 | All materials on application for leave submitted to the Judges, for consideration by the Court | |
| 2026-02-23 | Applicant's reply to respondent's argument, (Book Form), Completed on: 2026-02-24, (Printed version filed on 2026-02-24) | William McCormack |
| 2026-02-12 | Book of authorities, (Book Form), Completed on: 2026-02-12, (Printed version filed on 2026-02-13) | Bryce Evans |
| 2026-02-12 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), 23A, (Printed version filed on 2026-02-13) | Bryce Evans |
| 2026-02-12 | Notice of name, (Letter Form), (Printed version filed on 2026-02-13) | Bryce Evans |
| 2026-02-12 | Respondent's response on the application for leave to appeal, (Book Form), Completed on: 2026-02-12, (Printed version filed on 2026-02-13) | Bryce Evans |
| 2026-01-13 | Letter acknowledging receipt of a complete application for leave to appeal, FILE OPENED | |
| 2026-01-12 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), 23A, (Printed version filed on 2026-01-13) | William McCormack |
| 2026-01-12 | Application for leave to appeal, (Book Form), Completed on: 2026-01-13, (Printed version filed on 2026-01-13) | William McCormack |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| McCormack, William | Appellant | Active |
v.
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Evans, Bryce | Respondent | Active |
| Cam Durham, Kim Derry, Toronto Police Services Board, and (Former) Chief of Police Julian Fantino | Respondent | Active |
Counsel
Party: McCormack, William
Counsel
Devin Bains
Natalie Simpson
8 King Street East
Suite 700
Toronto, Ontario
M5C 1B5
Telephone: (416) 369-0909
FAX: (416) 369-0303
Email: hepstein@bainspartners.com
Agent
100 - 340 Gilmour Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K2P 0R3
Telephone: (613) 695-8855 Ext: 102
FAX: (613) 695-8580
Email: emeehan@supremeadvocacy.ca
Party: Evans, Bryce
Counsel
Natalie Kolos
Bay Adelaide Centre, East Tower
22 Adelaide Street West, Suite 3400
Toronto, Ontario
M5H 4E3
Telephone: (416) 367-6118
Email: kmcgivney@blg.com
Party: Cam Durham, Kim Derry, Toronto Police Services Board, and (Former) Chief of Police Julian Fantino
Counsel
Natalie Kolos
Bay Adelaide Centre, East Tower
22 Adelaide Street West, Suite 3400
Toronto, Ontario
M5H 4E3
Telephone: (416) 367-6118
Email: kmcgivney@blg.com
Summary
Keywords
Torts — Malicious prosecution — Charter-offending material in a civil action — Malice requirement — Reasonable and probable cause to initiate prosecution — What is the test for the admission or exclusion of Charter-offending material in a civil action? — To what extent should the Crown’s decision to withdraw criminal charges affect the assessment of reasonable and probable grounds under the third branch of the test for malicious prosecution set out by this Court in Kvello v. Miazga?
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.
Police uncovered evidence incriminating the applicant in bribery and corruption offences and obtained an authorization to intercept Mr. McCormack’s communications. As a result of his incriminating utterances, he was charged with 22 criminal offences. The charges were never tried on their merits; some were stayed for delay and others were withdrawn by the Crown. Mr. McCormack filed a civil suit against the respondents, alleging wrongful prosecution, negligent investigation, and other civil torts. He maintains his innocence on the merits, arguing that the police had no reasonable and probable grounds to bring charges against him.
The Superior Court of Justice ruled that the evidence of recordings of wiretap intercepts was admissible at trial. The wiretap authorization had not been set aside and benefits from a presumption of validity. Furthermore, there were reasonable and probable grounds for Mr. McCormack’s arrest and the charges against him. The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal and held that the trial judge did not err in his analysis of the case.
Lower court rulings
McCormack’s action is dismissed.
Mr. McCormack’s appeal is dismissed.
Filed documents
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 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 613-996-8666 or at 1-844-365-9662.
If you have questions about a memorandum of argument or want to use a memorandum of argument, please contact the author of the memorandum of argument directly. Their name appears at the end of the memorandum of argument. The contact information for counsel is found in the “Counsel” tab of this page.
Downloadable PDFs
Not available
Related links
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 613-996-8666 or at 1-844-365-9662.
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
Not available
Related links
The condensed books of the appellant, the respondent and the intervener will be posted here upon receipt of the electronic version, 2 days prior to the scheduled appeal hearing. You may also obtain copies of condensed books 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 613-996-8666 or at 1-844-365-9662.
If you have questions about a condensed book or want permission to use a condensed book, please contact the author of the condensed book directly. Their contact information appears on the first page of each condensed book.
Downloadable PDFs
Not available