Weilers LLP

Unsettling Settlements

December 23, 2020 By Nick Melchiorre Careful drafting of your settlement agreements may avoid future grief, legal expense, uncertainty and delay. Poor drafting may even make your settlement vulnerable to being reopened. If it is a settlement you reach without lawyers, this is particularly problematic; but even if you have a lawyer, they need your participation […]

Who Cares about the Duty of Care?

December 23, 2020 By Mark Mikulasik You should, if you operate a business. If you want protection from business financial losses caused by shoddy products, you better have a contract. That is the message that the Supreme Court of Canada is sending in 1688782 Ontario Inc. v. Maple Leaf Foods Inc. This case arises out of […]

Construction Lien Trusts

December 20, 2020 By Brian Babcock Payments for a construction project in Ontario are trust funds under the Construction Act (formerly the Construction Lien Act). Persons involved in a breach of trust may be ordered to personally pay the misdirected amounts. Hopefully, this will not be you, but one purpose of this article is to warn […]

Stereotypes Harm Us All

December 20, 2020 By Brian Babcock We seldom post articles about criminal law, but we wish to reproduce and bring to your attention the November 6, 2020 decision of the Supreme Curt of Canada in R. v. Slatter, which reads in full: We are all of the view that the appeal must be allowed, for the […]

FAQ: Am I going to win?

December 7, 2020 By Brian Babcock In lawsuits, this must be the single most frequently asked question. The only honest answer is “I don’t know.” As much as clients hate to hear it, nothing is certain when you go to court. Your lawyer can give you an educated opinion on what might happen, but there are […]

What is Reasonable Care?

November 30, 2020 By Brian Babcock A failure to meet Building Code standards may result in a municipality being responsible for damages suffered by a user of municipally occupied facilities. Trying to introduce a new theory on appeal does not help. A municipality may be an occupier of property under the terms of the Occupiers’ Liability […]

Constructive Dismissal and Bonus Payments

November 30, 2020 By Brian Babcock A senior executive who is constructively dismissed is entitled to a bonus he would have earned during a period of reasonable notice, the Supreme Court of Canada has confirmed. Other portions of their ruling may also increase payments to departing employees. Some issues are left open for future cases, increasing […]

When is a Lawsuit an Appropriate Means to Resolve a Wrongful Dismissal Claim?

November 23, 2020 By Brian Babcock Generally, in Ontario, a person suffering a loss must sue within two years of suffering the loss. There are, however, circumstances that extend this time limit. Discoverability is at the heart of calculating the time limit to sue in Ontario. It simply is common sense that you cannot be expected […]

Reasonably Contemplating Remoteness of Damages

November 23, 2020 By Brian Babcock The basic rule of contract damages is that the type of loss must be “reasonably contemplated” by the parties at the time they entered into the contract. Otherwise, we say that they are “too remote”. A defendant’s potential exposure cannot be unlimited. The courts have struggled to define what “reasonably […]

Common Sense and Litigation

November 10, 2020 By Brian Babcock A little common sense can go a long way in litigation. The cost and delay in lawsuits can be significantly reduced when parties and their lawyers do the smart thing. A recent Ontario superior Court case is just one of many examples. In 1479021 Ontario Inc. v. Hawkesbury (Town), the […]