More Corporate Fun And Games
May 29, 2023 By Nick Melchiorre If you end up in a dispute with your fellow shareholders in a closely held private corporation, it pays to be well behaved. We looked at that previously in the context of seeking an oppression remedy. THE ISSUE But what about an injunction to compel your fellow shareholder to […]
Capital Punishment For A Breach Of Privilege?
May 26, 2023 By Brian Babcock Privilege is a serious matter, as we have explained before. ISSUE But what penalty should be imposed when one party intentionally and seriously violates the privilege of another? THE CASE In Continental Currency Exchange Canada Inc. v. Sprott, the Ontario Court of Appeal imposes a form of judicial capital […]
Administrative Appeals May Be Premature
May 25, 2023 By Nick Melchiorre Timing can be everything. THE ISSUE If you are on the wrong end of an administrative decision and have a right to appeal, make sure that you do it at the correct time or you may waste time, money, and energy by having to start all over again. THE […]
Taking Shareholder Agreements Seriously
May 19, 2023 By Jonathon Clark If you incorporate your privately held business, your lawyer will probably advise both you and the other shareholders to enter into a unanimous shareholder agreement. This usually includes a buy-sell provision. Typically, our clients file away these documents and forget them, until one day, they pulled it out and […]
Taking Trial Dates Seriously
May 19, 2023 By Brian Babcock Getting your pleadings right in a timely fashion is an important, if often neglected, part of managing your lawsuit. If you do not, you may lose your trial date or have your amendment rejected. THE ISSUE The Court of Appeal has provided us with a fresh example in a […]
Who Is More Innocent?
May 5, 2023 By Brian Babcock The moral high ground strikes again. THE ISSUE Though the phrase is seldom used explicitly in judgments, the centrality of this concept to equity is the silent explanation of the result of many civil cases. THE CASE This is once again demonstrated by Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce v. […]
What is the “clean hands doctrine”?
May 5, 2023 By Nick Melchiorre You may have heard the expression “coming to court with clean hands”. Perhaps you have a vague idea what you think it may mean or you may have no idea. We are here to help your understanding because, like so much in law, a few simple words can have […]
The Scope Of The Entire Agreement Clause
May 2, 2023 By Mark Mikulasik If you are a landlord and promise customer parking as part of convincing a prospective tenant to sign a lease, make sure that it is provided, even if not mentioned in the lease. Especially if it is not mentioned in the lease. THE ISSUE Otherwise, do not expect your […]
Bad Faith, Illegality And By-Laws
May 2, 2023 By Mark Mikulasik THE ISSUE You might think that a by-law which is passed with procedural illegalities would be routinely quashed in court. The law is not that simple. THE CASE In Larabie Estate v. Moonbeam (Township) the Ontario Court of Appeal upholds a Superior Court judgment dismissing an application to have […]
Equity and the Defence of Dishonesty
February 24, 2023 By Brian Babcock It must take a particular kind of bravery to execute a multimillion-dollar fraud against the government. That same foolish bravery may then lead the fraudster to try to defend an action by the government to recover the money on the basis that it is really the government’s fault for […]