All the Proper Parties, Part II
March 16, 2021 By Brian Babcock In a recent article, we discussed the importance of suing the right parties, and what to do if you later discover additional parties, or a misnomer. Less frequently, we see problems where the wrong person is named as the Plaintiff or Applicant in the lawsuit. This can be just […]
Can email between a homebuyer and seller be legally binding?
March 7, 2021 By Meghan Payment With more people than ever staying in and working from home, Northern Ontario has experienced a boom in residential real estate transactions. Thanks to online services and websites, such as ifindtbay.ca, that directly connects potential homebuyers to a seller, buying and selling a home has never been more user […]
Corporations, Charter Rights, and Cruelty
March 7, 2021 By Brian Babcock A corporation may be treated like a natural being for many purposes in the law, but not when it attempts to claim the protection of the prohibition against “cruel and unusual punishment” in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The issue was decided by the Supreme Court of […]
A Trust with a Purpose
March 3, 2021 By Brian Babcock As discussed in our article What is a Trust?, a trust usually requires one or more beneficiaries – people who are entitled to the benefits of the property legally owned and controlled by the trustee. Sometimes, however, people who create a trust wish to do so to benefit a […]
Termination Clauses and Construction Workers
March 3, 2021 By Brian Babcock Ontario Courts REALLY dislike termination clauses in employment contracts which attempt to limit how much an employee may receive upon termination. I have written on this topic previously. Another recent case is a fresh example that makes this point even more clear. The construction industry is known for its […]
Unincorporated Associations and Trusts
February 21, 2021 By Brian Babcock Unincorporated associations are very common creatures. Most of us belong to them at some stage. Sports teams, clubs, and homeowners associations are just a few examples. You likely do not realize that in the eyes of the law, unincorporated associations do not exist. As Justice Eileen E. Gillese puts […]
All the Proper Parties
February 21, 2021 By Brian Babcock Suing the proper parties is important. If you sue the wrong party, you might not get a judgment. If you name them wrong, collecting on your judgment might be difficult, even impossible. This might seem obvious, yet we continually see reports of cases where Plaintiffs seek permission to add […]
What is Proprietary Estoppel?
February 14, 2021 By Brian Babcock Proprietary estoppel is an equitable doctrine which developed historically to prevent people from reneging on promises related to interests in land. The Statute of Frauds requires any dealing with interests in land to be in writing. In real life, people sometimes do not comply with this rule; if a […]
Clarifying the Need for Honest Performance of Contracts
February 14, 2021 By B. Paul Jasiura The duty of honesty in the performance of a contract applies to all contracts and means “simply that parties must not lie or otherwise knowingly mislead each other about matters directly linked to the performance of the contract”. This quotation from the 2014 decision of the Supreme Court […]
Specific Performance and Frustration
February 8, 2021 By Brian Babcock Even during a pandemic, the inability to obtain financing may not allow a buyer to walk away from a contract. An order for specific performance compelling the buyer to complete the deal may be the result. This is a cautionary tale about when you should decide to be a buyer, […]