Goldstein J. of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice granted summary judgment in favour of Stockwoods’ client, the Ontario Racing Commission and three of its individual racing stewards, all represented by lawyers Brendan van Niejenhuis and Justin Safayeni. The plaintiff, the jockey Simon Husbands, complained that he had been unfairly found by the racing stewards to have “failed to persevere” in the race. Some media reports suggested that the plaintiff had held his horse back in order to favour his brother, Patrick Husbands, who became the leading jockey for the season at Woodbine Racetrack as a result of his first-place on that occasion. After being exonerated in a full hearing before the Commission, the Plaintiff nevertheless sued for malicious prosecution, seeking over $1M in damages. The Court accepted the defence position that the issues had been fully determined by the Commission, and that there was no evidence of bad faith on the part of the Defendants in their handling of the complaints that gave rise to the allegations against the Plaintiff. To read the decision, click here.
