Don't Miss The Mark: ONCA Provides Guidance On How To Mark Non-evidentiary Expert Reports At Trial

Most litigators are aware of the importance of building a complete trial record to support a potential future appeal of the trial decision. Appeal courts do not conduct trials de novo; their role is to review the record of the underlying proceeding and assess the correctness or reasonableness of the underlying decision, a task that can be completed only where a fulsome factual and evidentiary record is available to them. Absent a complete record of the underlying proceeding, an appeal court cannot assess the issues through the eyes of the trial judge. For this reason, trial counsel must be vigilant in ensuring all materials that were before the trial judge are marked as appropriate to permit their inclusion in an appeal book.