Rocco the dog to be returned to late owner's family after Ontario judge rejects girlfriend's stay request
CBC
The future of Rocco Jr. is a bit more clear today after an Ontario judge ruled against the girlfriend of the dog's late owner, requiring her to hand over the animal to her deceased partner's family.
The two-year-old bull terrier has been at the centre of a legal tussle between the estate of Leonard Carvalho, who died suddenly in 2022, and his girlfriend, Aliesha Verma, who argues she is now the dog's rightful owner.
Last month, a court sided with Carvalho's family and ordered Verma to hand the dog over by March 15.
Verma's lawyer, Miranda Desa, tried to overturn that order at the Ontario Court of Appeal yesterday, but was unsuccessful.
"(Verma) is processing this, she's deciding what she wants to do next and figuring out a game plan," Desa said after the ruling. "I know she's in a difficult place."
Rocco Jr.'s story began in February 2022, when Verma and Carvalho brought the dog back from Florida after a vacation.
According to court documents, Verma has maintained that Carvalho gave the dog to her as a gift.
The day after Carvalho's sudden death in November 2022, Verma went to his house and retrieved the dog, who has lived with her ever since. Verma says Rocco Jr. is both a companion and an emotional support animal that helps her cope with ongoing emotional issues.
In a February ruling, an Ontario judge found there was no evidence Carvalho ever gave Rocco Jr. to Verma as a gift as she had claimed. The ruling gave Verma until March 15 to return Rocco Jr. to Carvalho's family.
At Thursday's hearing, Desa argued that the handover order should be stayed — at least until her appeal is heard — on the grounds that Verma should have been considered a co-owner of the dog all along.
Justice Katherine van Rensburg rejected that argument and said she will issue her reasons in writing at a future date.
Desa has said Verma plans to appeal, but isn't sure yet if yesterday's ruling will impact that decision. No date has been set for the appeal.
"This is a difficult day for Aliesha," Desa said Thursday. "She is dealing with the decision and has to make some decisions about what she wants to do moving forward."
Carvalho's lawyer, Tanya Pagliaroli, said earlier this week that the family won't be commenting on the case while it's still before the courts.
Municipal councils across Essex County and in Chatham-Kent and Sarnia have spent this year’s budget season trying to keep tax increases manageable while battling inflation and soaring policing costs and weighing the immediate cost of repairing aging infrastructure against the long-term cost of holding off.
Construction on Marda Loop’s main streets project may have quieted down, but redevelopment work continues at several locations along 34th Avenue. This time, the focus is on preserving the street’s history.
As both the provincial and federal governments hone in on mining opportunities in northern Ontario, supporting local industries and building safer highways are top of mind for regional leaders this year.
Tucked inside Toronto’s leafy, quiet and private residential neighbourhoods are facades that tell the story of another time in the city’s urban planning history.
Ontario’s two main opposition parties will try to turn the page on what was a difficult year, with one rebuilding after an underwhelming leadership vote result and another searching for a new person to take the party helm.
This year, two things will happen to Canada's fiscal watchdog: Interim Parliamentary Budget Officer Jason Jacques will be replaced or made permanent, and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) will publish its review of the office.
As the era of bilateral bad blood between Canada and the U.S. drags on, some snowbirds are facing a choice this January: Go south to warmer climes, or boycott a country that has gone from friend to somewhat of a foe.
RCMP are warning people of slippery conditions on the Trans-Canada Highway after a transport truck slid off the road in the area of Clarenville, N.L.
Sidney Crosby is remembering fellow Nova Scotian Lowell MacDonald, a former NHLer who died Sunday, as an inspiration to his career.
Moncton artist Alan Spinney doesn't usually paint on a five-by-five inch canvas, but he and his wife have started doing that for a new mini-art gallery.
Residents of Pimicikamak Cree Nation are celebrating and relieved now that power and electricity are being restored to the community.
Two people are dead after an early-morning highway collision on New Year’s Day, the Saskatoon Fire Department said Thursday morning.
A small group of Haitian Canadians celebrated the island nation's Independence Day at a B.C. church on Thursday by serving soup that symbolizes freedom.