Congratulations to our partners Justin Nasseri and Gordon Vance, who were a part of a consortium of successful counsel in a will challenge trial that occurred over September and October of 2024 on the Toronto Estates List. Bayliss v. Burnham, 2025 ONSC 5376 was a trial arising from the purported last will and testament of wealthy business magnate Kenneth Ryan Hill, one of the founders of Grand River Enterprises, a large tobacco company. Several of Mr. Hill’s children and their mothers challenged the validity of the will on the basis that there were suspicious circumstances surrounding the production of the will, there was insufficient evidence to establish that Mr. Hill knew and approved of its contents, and that he actually signed the document. The trial judge accepted these arguments, concluding that:
There is no evidence that Mr. Hill knew and approved of the contents of the Purported particularly as there is no evidence of the circumstances (when, where, with whom, etc.) in which it was drafted and allegedly signed. The Respondent asks that the satisfaction of this requirement be inferred from the circumstances, Mr. Hammond’s evidence that Mr. Hill had told him that he had “taken care of” making a will is not evidence that Mr. Hill made the Purported Will or that he knew and approved of the contents of the Purported Will. The fact that Mr. Hill had transferred certain business interests to Mr. Burnham prior to his death is not evidence that he knew and approved of the contents of the Purported Will. Mr. Montour’s and Ms. Haggett’s evidence that Mr. Hill had discussed with them that Mr. Burnham would take over his business interests, is not evidence that Mr. Hill knew and approved of the contents of the Purported Will. Similarly, even if Mr. Montour’s evidence that Mr. Hill gave him an envelope containing the Purported Will is accepted, it does not establish that Mr. Hill understood what was in the Purported Will and that it reflected his testamentary intentions. Having regard to all the evidence, I find that the Respondent has failed to establish that Mr. Hill knew and approved of the contents of the Purported Will.
We are proud of Justin’s and Gordon’s contributions to this significant and just result, which included examining several witnesses before and during trial, preparing written closings, and taking part in the oral closing arguments. We also thank the consortium of counsel for the mothers and children for their contributions to this victory, which includes Arieh Bloom and Jessica Karjanmaa of Tupman & Bloom LLP; Alexander Turner and Samuel Rabinovitch of Bales Beall LLP; Zara Wong of Casey & Moss LLP; and George Pappas and Anuran Sivakumaren of Pappas Law.