Taking Arbitration Clauses Seriously
May 13, 2022 By Brian Babcock Until now, arbitration clauses in your commercial contract have likely been one of those “boilerplate” provisions tucked away deep into the document, drafted by a lawyer but largely ignored by the clients. If you have not been giving the arbitration clause serious thought until now, it is time to […]
Royalty Agreements – Arbitrate or Litigate?
November 13, 2021 By Brian Babcock Despite the complexity of mining royalty agreements, if they contain an arbitration clause, Ontario courts are likely to stay any court proceedings and defer to arbitration. This is consistent with the recent trend to defer commercial disputes to arbitration generally, if that is what the parties agreed to in […]
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 […]
Too Much to Ask
January 8, 2021 By Brian Babcock What happens when an arbitrator commits errors of law and a breach of natural justice which require a new hearing? Usually, a different arbitrator must be appointed. The principles of efficiency, cost-effectiveness and fairness to the parties must be balanced with the need to secure fair and equal treatment. Even […]
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 […]
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 […]
Court Of Appeal Favours Enforcing Arbitration Clauses
November 22, 2016 By Brian Babcock Some time back, I wrote about Taking Arbitration Clauses Seriously, noting that “Canadian courts are increasingly willing to enforce the terms of arbitration clauses in commercial agreements.” This has been reinforced by a recent Ontario Court of Appeal decision, Haas v. Gunasekaram, which involved a dispute between investors in a restaurant. The […]
Family Feuds And Estate Mediation: Serious Problem Meets Possible Solution
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]July 15, 2015 By Fhara Pottinger Is your family on the verge of a serious breakdown due to events that came out of someone’s Will or Power of Attorney? Are people taking sides? Have conversations become screaming matches? Has everyone descended into a tense silence? You may be in the midst of an Estate dispute. Disputes […]
Taking Arbitration Clauses Seriously
June 19, 2015 By Brian Babcock Canadian courts are increasingly willing to enforce the terms of arbitration clauses in commercial agreements. Canadian businesses need to learn to take these clauses seriously. For many years, even decades, our clients did not take commercial arbitration clauses seriously, and for good reason. If a dispute arose, even if the […]
An Introduction To Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]November 19, 2014 PART 1: MEDIATION ADR stands for Alternative Dispute Resolution or Appropriate Dispute Resolution. ADR is a rapidly developing and growing area of law in Canada due to its accessibility, cost effectiveness and less adversarial structure than traditional litigation. The field of ADR consists of numerous techniques and methods including: Mediation Negotiation Arbitration […]