Walker et al. v. Bank of New York Inc. et al., (1994) 69 O.A.C. 153 (CA)

• Judge: Houlden, McKinlay and Labrosse, JJ.A.
• Court: Court of Appeal (Ontario)
• Case Date: January 31, 1994
• Jurisdiction: Ontario
• Citations: (1994), 69 O.A.C. 153 (CA)

Walker v. Bk. of New York (1994), 69 O.A.C. 153 (CA)

MLB headnote and full text

Elizabeth Rebecca Walker, Sarah Michelle Walker and Edward Michael Walker, minors, by their Litigation Guardian Kenneth Walker and Kenneth Walker in his personal capacity (plaintiffs/respondents) v. The Bank of New York Inc., Phyllis Putter, Marie Prasad, The United States of America (A Body Politic), Department of the Treasury United States Customs Service, U.S. Department of Justice, Ken Prince a.k.a. Ken Pribble, Bob Grey, Tom Kuras, Ira Belkin and China Trade Inc. (defendants/appellants)

(Nos. C16778, C16759)

Indexed As: Walker et al. v. Bank of New York Inc. et al.

Ontario Court of Appeal

Houlden, McKinlay and Labrosse, JJ.A.

January 31, 1994.

Summary:

The plaintiff Walker sued the U.S. govern­ment for damages for conspiracy, unlawful imprisonment, fraud and misrepresentation. He also sued the defendant bank for dam­ages for deceit, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty or, alternatively, negligent misrepresen­tation. Various members of his family claimed damages under the Family Law Act. The defendants moved to stay the action against them. The Ontario Court of Justice (General Division), in a decision reported 15 O.R.(3d) 596, dismissed the motions. The defendants appealed.

The Ontario Court of Appeal allowed the appeal and dismissed the action against all the defendants.

International Law - Topic 2203

Sovereignty - Immunity - Exceptions - Death or personal injury - Section 3 of the State Immunity Act confirmed the immu­nity of foreign states from the jurisdiction of Canadian courts - The Act also pro­vided for exceptions from that immunity, including s. 6, which excepted a foreign state from immunity in any proceeding relating to, inter alia, any death or personal injury that occurred in Canada - The Ontario Court of Appeal held that "the scope of personal injury covered by s. 6 is not merely physical, but could include mental distress, emotional upset and re­striction of liberty" - See paragraphs 12 to 16.

International Law - Topic 2206

Sovereignty - Immunity - Foreign agencies - Section 3 of the State Immunity Act confirmed the immunity of foreign states from the jurisdiction of Canadian courts - Employees of the Bank of New York Inc. acted at the request of U.S. government law enforcement officers for the purpose of assisting them in their investigation of possible criminal activities - The Ontario Court of Appeal held that the bank and its employees were immune under the Act - See paragraphs 8 to 10.

Cases Noticed:

Reference Re Canada Labour Code and State Immunity Act (Can.), [1992] 2 S.C.R. 50; 137 N.R. 81, refd to. [para. 14].

Statutes Noticed:

State Immunity Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. S-18, sect. 2 [paras. 8-9]; sect. 3 [paras. 8, 12]; sect. 5 [paras. 13, 15]; sect. 6 [paras. 12-13, 15-17].

Authors and Works Noticed:

Oxford English Dictionary [para. 10].

Counsel:

S.T. Goudge, Q.C., and M. Ruby, for the appellants, U.S. Government, The United States of America (A Body Politic), Department of the Treasury United States Customs Service, U.S. Depart­ment of Justice, Ken Prince a.k.a. Ken Pribble, Tom Kuras and Ira Belkin;

S.F. Rosenhek, for the appellant, Bank of New York Inc.;

B.C. Leblanc, for the appellants, Phyllis Putter and Marie Prasad;

Anil Kapoor, for the respondents.

This appeal was heard January 13, 1994, before Houlden, McKinlay and Labrosse, JJ.A., of the Ontario Court of Appeal.

The following decision of the Court of Appeal was delivered by McKinlay, J.A., and was released on January 31, 1994.