Criminal & Civil Contempt and Intent
December 28, 2022 By Jonathon Clark We have written before about contempt of court, and its importance in maintaining respect for the administration of justice as well as to promote the enforcement of court orders. To refresh your memory, the elements of contempt are: the order alleged to have been breached “must state clearly and unequivocally […]
Hearsay Overheard
December 28, 2022 By Nick Melchiorre Does your voice carry? I know mine sure does. I am known for being the opposite a very quiet speaker. THE CASE In R. v. Schneider, the accused was charged with second degree murder after the victim’s body was recovered by police in a hidden suitcase following a tip from […]
Virtual Hearings Are Here To Stay
December 18, 2022 By Brian Babcock I hope that we can all agree that the pandemic was mostly terrible. However, there were some bright spots of change. THE ISSUE As we emerge from the pandemic, even if COVID joins the list of viruses to be avoided at less than pandemic levels, one of the questions […]
Fiction, Reality, Fraud and Privilege
December 3, 2022 By Brian Babcock Have you watched Better Call Saul or Breaking Bad? Do you recall Saul Goodman saying what Walt needed was “not a criminal lawyer but a criminal lawyer”? THE ISSUE What, you may ask, does that have to do with solicitor-client privilege? We have written before about the importance of […]
What is Civil Fraud?
November 28, 2022 By Brian Babcock Fraud is such an ugly word. When most of us think about fraud, we think about criminal activity and big headlines on our favorite financial websites. Although fraud can certainly be a crime, the same term is used in is lawsuits between individuals or corporations to describe improper activity […]
Heavy Handed Tactics May Be Costly
November 20, 2022 By Brian Babcock If you are an employer and are faced with a wrongful dismissal or constructive dismissal claim from a former employee you may need to defend yourself. You may even be successful or largely successful in your defence. THE ISSUE In Canada, unlike the United States, a successful party is […]
Privacy Is Priceless
November 3, 2022 By Jonathon Clark We recently posted an article dealing with the high significance of personal privacy as it relates to social values of dignity, integrity and autonomy. This article focused on a criminal law case in which the complainant’s privacy rights were weighed against alleged privacy rights of a wrongdoer. In that […]
What A Nuisance, Part Two
October 28, 2022 By Nick Melchiorre In our first article explaining the law of nuisance, we explained the importance of the availability of nuisance as a private wrong or tort. It gives an alternative way of recovering damages against someone who causes you harm – usually a neighbour or near neighbour – without having to […]
17 Things You Need to Know About Solicitor-Client Privilege
September 14, 2022 By Jonathon Clark No, this is not a Buzzfeed listicle. Less fun, more important. We have written before about solicitor-client privilege being central to our system of justice. There is more to write, because beyond the basics it gets technical and even though the basic importance may be obvious, the devil is […]
When is it Cost-Effective to Bring a Motion?
September 1, 2022 By Brian Babcock Not all possible steps in your lawsuit are worth the cost. Often, motions are brought for tactical reasons that turn out to be a bad investment. Motions to strike pleadings are a classic example. Poor drafting can be expensive to fix, so is something you want to avoid. But […]