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Abuse of Process - Re-litigation (2). Shaulov v. Law Society of Ontario
In Shaulov v. Law Society of Ontario (Ont CA, 2025) the Ontario Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal, here from a partly-successful motion to strike a claim in the context of a lawsuit relating to an administrative finding that the appellant's "application for a [SS: lawyer] licence was deemed abandoned."
Here the court considered the 'abuse of process' doctrine:[11] The doctrine of abuse of process is rooted in a court’s inherent and residual discretion to prevent abuse of its process: Saskatchewan (Environment) v. Métis Nation – Saskatchewan, 2025 SCC 4, 500 D.L.R. (4th) 279, at para. 33; Law Society of Saskatchewan v. Abrametz, 2022 SCC 29, [2022] 2 SCR 220, at para. 33; and Toronto (City) v. C.U.P.E., Local 79, 2003 SCC 63, [2003] 3 SCR 77, at para. 35.
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[21] We also agree with the non-LSO defendants that the proposed claim in negligence against them is an abuse of process because it is a claim the appellant could have made in his original statement of claim. As this court has recognized, the doctrine of abuse of process applies to claims that were made or that could have been made in a prior proceeding: Aba-Alkhail v. University of Ottawa, 2013 ONCA 633, 363 D.L.R. (4th) 470, at para. 12, leave to appeal refused, [2013] S.C.C.A. No. 491; Winter v. Sherman Estate, 2018 ONCA 703, 42 E.T.R. (4th) 181, at para. 7, leave to appeal refused, [2019] S.C.C.A. No. 438; The Catalyst Capital Group Inc. v. VimpelCom Ltd., 2019 ONCA 354, 145 O.R. (3d) 759, at para. 67, leave to appeal refused, [2019] S.C.C.A. No. 284. While the motion judge did not deal directly with this argument, it is an additional compelling reason why the appellant should not be allowed to proceed with his claim in negligence against the non-LSO defendants.
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