Articles

Summaries for this week’s civil decisions of the Court of Appeal. Topics covered include commercial leasing, by-law enforcement, municipal liability, assessments under the Solicitors Act, pension obligations under a contract and family law.

Topics covered this week included interlocutory vs final orders for the purpose of appeal in the context of summary judgment, the triggering of the duty to defend under a CGL insurance policy, MVA, re-opening an appeal on a new ground not previously raised, real and substantial connection, and exclusion clauses in equipment leases.

The recent decision of the Court of Appeal for Ontario in Novatrax International Inc. v. Hägele Landtechnik GmbH provides a prime example of how arbitration clauses can complicate, rather than simplify matters. The result in that case is that there may now be more than one proceeding to resolve the dispute – an arbitration, plus a court case.

Civil topics covered included MVA, SABs, family law, vexatious litigants, employment law, simplified procedure and another chapter in the Indian Residential Schools settlement.The RJM56 Investments Inc v Kurnik decision highlights the importance of litigators not treating the tax implications of a settlement as an afterthought and of obtaining tax advice before completing a settlement.

Sometimes, one or even two civil proceedings will arise from the same allegations that underlie a criminal proceeding. Justin Nasseri examines if and to what extent the result from one kind of case can be used in another, and some of the key takeaways for defence and Crown counsel to bear in mind.

There were five substantive civil decisions released and summarized this week. They dealt with duty of care, wrongful termination, the difference between litigation experts and participant experts, legal and equitable assignments, as well as an endorsement amending an order requiring counsel asserting a solicitors lien to produce the file to new counsel.