Rudderham et al. v. T.J.’s Grill & Bar

2012 ONCA 603 (CanLII); Lerners acted for the appellants in this appeal from a summary judgment motion dismissing a tavernhost liability claim against a bar. The issue was whether it was appropriate to grant summary judgment given conflicting evidence about what happened on the night in question. The Court of Appeal for Ontario held that it was appropriate for the trial judge to engage in limited weighing of the parties’ evidence, based on which the trial judge was entitled to conclude that there was no genuine issue for trial. The Court of Appeal therefore chose not to interfere with the motion judge’s decision to grant summary judgment.