Judgment after Default
August 11, 2021 By Brian Babcock You sue somebody because they owe you money, or have caused you damages. They do not defend. What do you do next? The answer depends upon the nature of your claim. If you have a “liquidated claim”, you note the defendant in default, file some documents, and the Registrar […]
Rethinking Damages for Defamation?
June 15, 2021 By Brian Babcock Defamation is the action you might bring if someone tells lies about you that harm your reputation. Libel and slander are both types of defamation. An action for defamation may lead to “aggravated damages” or “punitive damages” in addition to “general damages” for loss of reputation, mental distress and […]
Protecting Your Good Name
March 16, 2021 By Brian Babcock Who steals my purse steals trash. ‘Tis something, nothing: ‘Twas mine, ’tis his, and has been slave to thousands. But he that filches from me my good name Robs me of that which not enriches him And makes me poor indeed. (Othello Act 3 Scene 3) Shakespeare understood the […]
All the Proper Parties, Part II
March 16, 2021 By Brian Babcock In a recent article, we discussed the importance of suing the right parties, and what to do if you later discover additional parties, or a misnomer. Less frequently, we see problems where the wrong person is named as the Plaintiff or Applicant in the lawsuit. This can be just […]
All the Proper Parties
February 21, 2021 By Brian Babcock Suing the proper parties is important. If you sue the wrong party, you might not get a judgment. If you name them wrong, collecting on your judgment might be difficult, even impossible. This might seem obvious, yet we continually see reports of cases where Plaintiffs seek permission to add […]
Parks, the Public Interest and Pandemics
February 8, 2021 By Brian Babcock When did your municipality last review how its parks by-law serves the public interest? Covid-related concerns were not enough reason to disregard a municipal by-law regulating parks. In doing so, the decision highlights important factors applicable to public interest injunctions generally, in particular the use of expert evidence and how […]
Construction Lien Trusts
December 20, 2020 By Brian Babcock Payments for a construction project in Ontario are trust funds under the Construction Act (formerly the Construction Lien Act). Persons involved in a breach of trust may be ordered to personally pay the misdirected amounts. Hopefully, this will not be you, but one purpose of this article is to warn […]
Stereotypes Harm Us All
December 20, 2020 By Brian Babcock We seldom post articles about criminal law, but we wish to reproduce and bring to your attention the November 6, 2020 decision of the Supreme Curt of Canada in R. v. Slatter, which reads in full: We are all of the view that the appeal must be allowed, for the […]
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 […]
Reasonably Contemplating Remoteness of Damages
November 23, 2020 By Brian Babcock The basic rule of contract damages is that the type of loss must be “reasonably contemplated” by the parties at the time they entered into the contract. Otherwise, we say that they are “too remote”. A defendant’s potential exposure cannot be unlimited. The courts have struggled to define what “reasonably […]