Is working notice a good idea?
August 30, 2021 By Brian Babcock Sometimes, when a non-union employee is terminated without cause, the employer tries to gain value for the amounts payable to the departing employee by giving working notice. Whether or not this is a good idea depends upon all of the circumstances. If the departure is amicable, the employee is […]
Courts Continue to Favour Employees after Termination
August 30, 2021 By Brian Babcock We have written often about how Ontario courts tend to favour employees in wrongful dismissal law suits. Often, these cases involve the validity of a clause that attempts to limit payments sue on dismissal to less than required by law. Perretta v. A Rand Technology Corporation illustrates a somewhat different […]
How much risk can you afford?
August 23, 2021 By Brian Babcock A financing condition is common in a residential agreement of purchase and sale. It exists to protect the buyers if they cannot get the necessary loan to buy the property. If not waived, it allows them to walk away and the sellers then must remarket the property, with no […]
Watch Your Lease Renewal Dates
August 23, 2021 By Brian Babcock The Ontario Court of Appeal has given the duty of good faith in performing contracts a narrow reading, refusing to apply it to grant relief from forfeiture in a situation where a commercial tenant was outside the agreed dates for attempting to renew its lease. The case involved a […]
Enforceability of Arbitration Clauses in Employment Agreements
August 16, 2021 By Brian Babcock It may be that not all arbitration clauses in employment contracts are unenforceable. The Supreme Court of Canada decision in Uber Technologies v Heller has attracted a lot of attention for declaring that the particular arbitration clause in the Uber agreement was invalid because it was unconscionable. At a […]
Relief from Forfeiture and Racism in Leasing
August 16, 2021 By Brian Babcock Racially tainted reasons to deny a commercial tenant a renewal of their lease can result in relief from forfeiture and an order extending the term of the lease for the renewal period, even without evidence of conscious racial motivation. The Ontario Court of Appeal has upheld a lower court […]
Limiting claims for breach of privacy?
August 11, 2021 By Brian Babcock Privacy rights are fundamentally important. This has been confirmed by the Supreme Court of Canada in Douez v. Facebook, Inc where privacy rights are described as having “quasi-constitutional status”. That decision dealt with claims of breaches of British Columbia’s Privacy Act, not common law claims for damages in tort. […]
Judgment after Default
August 11, 2021 By Brian Babcock You sue somebody because they owe you money, or have caused you damages. They do not defend. What do you do next? The answer depends upon the nature of your claim. If you have a “liquidated claim”, you note the defendant in default, file some documents, and the Registrar […]
Municipal Misrepresentations in the Zoning Process
August 6, 2021 By Mark Mikulasik A real estate developer cannot sue a municipality for its increased costs if the information supplied by the municipality about an easement abutting the property is incorrect. This is the result of the decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal in Charlesfort Developments Limited v. Ottawa (City) . The […]
Punitive Damages and Workplace Injuries
August 6, 2021 By Brian Babcock Punitive damages might not be as limited as suggested by our recent articles on the subject. The Ontario Court of Appeal decision in Eynon v. Simplicity Air Ltd. is a useful reminder that each case turns on is own facts, and the facts of that case are startling. Outrageous […]