Weilers LLP

Sanctions for Contempt of Court

February 13, 2022 By Brian Babcock Judgment is not a remedy directly available for contempt of court arising in a civil lawsuit in Ontario. In the process of confirming this principle, the Ontario Court of Appeal provides a clear and useful roadmap for parties, lawyers, and judges in determining the appropriate sanctions for contempt. In […]

Taking Case Conferences Seriously

February 7, 2022 By Mark Mikulasik Case conferences are available under the Rules of Civil Procedure to move cases forward more efficiently, more affordably, and more justly by allowing judges to make binding procedural decisions at the conference without formal motions. The use of case conferences on a formal basis in civil litigation is a […]

What’s in a Name? A Business Name that is…

January 24, 2022 By Mark Mikulasik In Ontario, any person or corporation carrying on business under any name other than their own name is required to resister that name under the Business Names Act. This makes sense. It should be easy to know who you are doing business with. In addition to registration, you are […]

Dealing With Default

January 24, 2022 By Jonathon Clark Ontario’s legal system strongly favours having disputes resolved on their merits, not as a result of technical rules. For that reason, our courts are given wide powers to excuse non-compliance with the rules. This includes the power to set aside a default judgment and allowing the defendant to file […]

Protecting Your Settlement Privilege

January 23, 2022 By Brian Babcock “Privilege” is a word that the law uses differently than ordinary English, but to a lawyer, it is one of the most important ways that you can protect your privacy and confidentiality. “Solicitor-client privilege” protects communications with your lawyer. Although not absolute, it is highly protected by the courts, […]

Yet Another Reason Not to Sit on Your Rights

January 23, 2022 By Brian Babcock We have written before, more than once, about why waiting until the last moment to start your lawsuit is a bad idea. And yet, there are still new examples of how the time limit may be missed. These cases do not necessarily just involve small losses, or unsophisticated clients. […]

Is that Order Final or Interlocutory?

January 15, 2022 By Brian Babcock You might look at this title and start by wondering “what does ‘interlocutory’ mean?” Good question, one that a lot of lawyers and judges still struggle with. Also an important question if you want to appeal a Superior Court order or judgment. Because the correct appeal route – that […]

Should You Represent Yourself in Small Claims Court?

December 29, 2021 By Brian Babcock Small Claims Court is intended to be a simple source of access to justice. For decades, that has meant that many, if not most, parties (other than debt collectors) represented themselves. But this idea started when Small Claims were truly small. For much of the province, that meant $400.00. […]

Another Reason Not to Sit on Your Rights

December 12, 2021 By Brian Babcock For some reason, a lot of lawyers, and a lot of clients, seem to think that waiting until the last possible moment to start a law suit is a good idea. We have written before about some reasons why this is a bad idea. No one needs an argument […]

Rethinking Releases

November 9, 2021 By Brian Babcock For 150 years in Canada, releases have been interpreted differently than other contracts. That will no longer be the case after the Supreme Court ruling in Corner Brook (City) v. Bailey. The court has stated that because a release is a contract, general rules of contract interpretation ought to […]