Trusts vs Agency
October 16, 2020 By Brian Babcock Trusts and agency are both legal concepts about relationships. Perhaps because of this commonality, people often confuse the two. They are quite different and recognizing which relationship exists in a particular situation may be crucial to understanding what your legal rights and responsibilities might be. There are many differences. Some […]
Assignment of Contracts and Good Faith
August 21, 2020 By Brian Babcock Does an agreement that requires consent to its assignment carry with it an implied understanding that consent will not be unreasonably withheld? Commercial contracts often include a clause which requires the consent of one party to the assignment of the contract by the other party to an outsider. Where these […]
Undue Influence and Spousal Guarantees
August 19, 2020 By Brian Babcock There is not always undue influence when a spouse personally guarantees the corporate debt of their spouse’s business. A written certificate of independent legal advice is not always required to maintain the validity of the guarantee. Historically, courts have found undue influence makes a guarantee unenforceable in situations which typically […]
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 […]
The Principle Of Buyer Beware In Contract Law
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]June 10, 2015 By Mark Mikulasik Co-Authored by Jon Clark (Student at Law, Weilers) Love them or hate them, the reality is that contracts are part of our everyday lives. For many the first experience with the law is when faced with a contract for something as simple as a cell phone or the purchase of […]
Show Some Consideration
March 27, 2015 By Brian Babcock Maybe you have read, or even signed, a document which included the magic words “In consideration of…” and wondered why that phrase appears. You should never sign a legal document if you do not understand the terms, so the first tip in this article: never be afraid to ask questions before signing contracts, […]
To Tell The Truth
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]November 26, 2014 By Brian Babcock Most people know what it means to tell the truth. Therefore, “A reasonable commercial person would expect, at least, that the other party to a contract would not be dishonest about his or her performance.” This concept is at the core of a 2014 Supreme Court of Canada decision which recognized a […]
Countdown To CASL
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]June 23, 2014 By Brad Smith On July 1, 2014 the new Canadian Anti-Spam Law or “CASL” legislation comes into force. The purpose of the Act is “to promote the efficiency and adaptability of the Canadian economy by regulating commercial conduct that discourages the use of electronic means to carry out commercial activities.” While this law […]
The Value of a Trademark
May 3, 2011 By Brian Babcock A 2004 Ontario Court of Appeal decision illustrates the value of trademark registration. Molson Breweries markets an ale called “ Export”. Another brewery, Oland, owned by Labatt’s has also for many years sold ale called “ Export”, previously only in Atlantic Canada. Oland has a registered trademark of its […]
Garnishment of a Bank Account: Some Comments
March 28, 2007 By Paul Jasiura Recently we obtained Judgment on behalf of a client and took the usual step of issuing a Notice of Garnishment against the Judgment Debtor’s bank account. We were surprised to hear back from the Bank that it would not respond to the Notice of Garnishment unless and until our […]