Articles 2021

The following are our summaries of the civil decisions of the Court of Appeal for the week of December 7, 2020. We have also summarized R. v. Irwin, a provincial offences decision relating to Building Code violations, as it deals with the rule prohibiting collateral attacks of orders, and is therefore a decision applicable in the civil and administrative law context. Other topics covered include jurisdiction, reasonable apprehension of bias, occupier’s liability and family law.

Following are our summaries of the civil decisions of the Court of Appeal for Ontario. In Zoutman v Graham, the appellant’s delay of over 6 months in bringing an anti-SLAPP motion was fatal, as it subverted the intent & purpose of s.137.1 of the CJA, and where a defendant denies making the defamatory statements, an anti-SLAPP motion is unavailable. Other topics were rescission due to misrepresentation in a real estate contract, jurisdiction in the labour law context, and stay pending appeal.

There were only two civil decisions of any length released by the Court of Appeal this past week. However, in J.M.J. Family Trust v. Simcoe Block (1979) Limited, we are reminded that a debtor’s liability for “reasonable” legal fees incurred by a creditor enforcing a commercial agreement is not the same thing as liability for costs under the costs regime of the Rules.

Please find below our summaries of the civil decisions of the Court of Appeal for the week of November 16, 2020.

Please find below our summaries of the civil decisions of the Court of Appeal for the week of November 9, 2020.

There were quite a few substantive decisions of the Court of Appeal released this week. Topics covered this week included another round of litigation in the Indian Residential School Settlement, vexatious litigants, the setting aside of an order granting summary judgement in the context of a shareholder’s agreement involving a right of first refusal, limitation periods, family law.

This edition of the Insider is titled 'Who knew?". Articles by Marc Kestenberg and Kevin Schoenfeldt of Kestenberg Siegal Lipkus LLP, Jacqueline King and Matilda Lici of Shibley Righton LLP, and Cameron Fiske of Milosevic Fiske LLP, share little known practice points that could be a lifesaver on your next file. Enjoy!

Examinations for Discovery are a fundamental step in litigation. A party is entitled to examine a corporate representative with knowledge of the events at issue. As Jacqueline L. King and Matilda Lici of Shibley Righton LLP explain, it may not be so simple.

Beware of Rule 49 offers that may remain open even though they may have been rejected or there has been a counteroffer. Marc Kestenberg and Kevin Schoenfeldt of Kestenberg Siegal Lipkus LLP explain how Rule 49 offers derogate from common law rules of contract.

In this article, Cameron Fiske discusses the surprising result that plaintiffs cannot add LawPRO to professional liability claims as a party, thus potentially preventing recovery for meritorious claims where the defendant lawyer has been denied coverage or has failed to report the claim.