Court of Appeal

                           NOVA SCOTIA COURT OF APPEAL

Citation: CIBC Wood Gundy Financial Services v. Blackman,

2007 NSCA 98

Date: 20071017

Docket: CA 281133

Registry: Halifax

Between:

CIBC Wood Gundy Financial Services and

CIBC World Markets Inc.

Appellants

v.

                                           Richard George Blackman

                                                                                                            Respondent

                                                          - and -

                                           Merrill Lynch Canada Inc.

                                                                                                              Intervenor

Judge:                   The Honourable Justice Thomas Cromwell

Appeal Heard:      October 5, 2007

Subject:                 Production of documents - res judicata - semblance of relevance                    

Summary:             The defendants resisted the plaintiff’s  application for production of a document on two bases: first, that production had been denied in an earlier application so that the matter was res judicata or governed by issue estoppel and, second, that in any event, the document did not meet the semblance of relevance threshold for production.  The chambers judge ordered production and the defendants appealed.

Issues:                   1.       Was the application for production barred by the earlier order?

2.       If not, did the document meet the semblance of relevance threshold? 

Result:                  Leave to appeal granted but appeal dismissed.  The chambers judge had a discretion under Rule 20.10 to revisit the issue of whether the document should be produced and he did not err in the circumstances of this case in exercising that discretion in the plaintiff’s favour.  The document met the semblance of relevance threshold and the judge did not err in ordering it to be produced.