Contempt and the Enforcement of Orders
July 29, 2020 By Brian Babcock Obtaining a judgment or court order is only the first step toward satisfaction. The order must still be acted upon or enforced. In Ontario, the Rules of Civil Procedure provide several mechanisms for collecting on a money judgment. These are distinct from the mechanism for enforcing an order for something […]
Let The Buyer “Beware”
October 30, 2017 By Brad Smith Ghosts and goblins can play a role in the law. There is Latin phrase, caveat emptor, which means, let the buyer beware. This was never so true in a recent court case, 1784773 Ont. Inc. v K-W Labour Association et al. After selling some property, the seller reported in the local […]
What Is Mitigation?
May 4, 2017 By Brian Babcock Mitigation is a principle of the law of damages which limits the recovery by a Plaintiff. The core principle is that a Plaintiff cannot recover losses that can be avoided by taking reasonable steps. This levels the playing field out of a desire for fairness to defendants. A Plaintiff should […]
What Are “aggravated Damages”?
February 13, 2017 By Brian Babcock Aggravated damages are intended to compensate for an actual loss such as anxiety or nervous shock beyond economic losses, or in rare cases, beyond general damages for pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life. Aggravated damages are awarded in certain types of contract cases, where there are almost […]
What Is “Consumer Surplus”?
January 3, 2017 By Brian Babcock Traditionally, courts award damages for breach of contract mainly from a commercial viewpoint- asking questions such as “what additional expenses did the breach cause?” or, sometimes “what was the loss of profits suffered?” These approaches however do not adequately capture the non-monetary benefits which flow from certain types of consumer […]
A Lawyer’s Twelve Days Of Christmas
December 16, 2016 By Brian Babcock On the first day of Christmas my client asked me “who owns a partridge in a pear tree?” I answered that no one owns wild game, but domestic fowl are another tale indeed. On the second day of Christmas, my client asked me “what if I fall in love and […]
Jail For Health And Safety Breach: R. V. Kazenelson
January 20, 2016 By Brad Smith “… a significant term of imprisonment is necessary to reflect the terrible consequences of the offences and to make it unequivocally clear that persons in positions of authority in potentially dangerous workplaces have a serious obligation to take all reasonable steps to ensure that those who arrive for work in the […]
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 […]
Show Some Consideration
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]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, […]
It’s About Clients
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]February 26, 2015 By Brian Babcock Lawyers are not special because we are lawyers. We are special because of our commitment to our clients. The Supreme Court of Canada repeated this in their recent decision exempting lawyers from many of the provisions in Canada’s money laundering regulations which might allow the government to peek behind the veil of […]