Rethinking the Meaning of Core Policy Decisions
February 13, 2022 By Mark Mikulasik What is a “core policy decision immune from negligence liability”? In Nelson (City) v. Marchi, the Supreme Court of Canada confirms that: municipalities are immune from liability for policy decisions. the onus is on the municipality to prove that an injury results from a ‘core policy’ decision, rather than […]
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 […]
Trustees and Ethical Investing
February 7, 2022 By Brian Babcock One of the key duties of a trustee, including an estate trustee, is to invest the trust or estate assets. Failure to invest is a breach of trust, for which the trustee may be required to reimburse the estate or beneficiaries. But what do trustees invest in? And what […]
Employees: Read the Fine Print
January 30, 2022 By Brian Babcock Courts often favour employees in disputes over the terms of employment contracts, as we have written many times before. This is typically justified on the basis of the inequality of bargaining power between employers and employees. One way that courts do this is by requiring employers to bring onerous […]
Jurisdiction and Human Rights: Looking Beyond the Headlines
January 30, 2022 By Brian Babcock Note: An Ontario Human Rights Tribunal has since ruled on this matter in the Ontario context. Please see “Jurisdiction and Human Rights: An Ontario Perspective” for an updated discussion. “Arbitrators have exclusive jurisdiction over human rights cases if there is a collective agreement” is the sort of headline that […]
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. […]