In a recent decision, the Ontario Court of Appeal held that a
party could not appeal a trial judgment unless they posted security
for the judgment itself. This was the first time this remedy has
been granted in Ontario.
In Wiseau Studio, LLC v. Harper, 2021 ONCA 31, the
plaintiffs lost a claim against a group of defendants who succeeded
in getting judgment by counterclaim. The trial judgment was
rendered after the plaintiffs engaged in substantial litigation
misconduct. The plaintiffs then commenced a frivolous appeal and
the defendants successfully moved for security of the trial
judgment.
In 2003, a California-based movie studio called Wiseau Films and
its principal, Tommy Wiseau (the
“Plaintiffs”) released a feature film
called “The Room”, which later went on to become a cult
hit. Four Ontario documentary filmmakers and their production
company (the “Defendants”) completed a
documentary on the movie in 2016 called “Room Full of
Spoons”, which is the
