Racial Slurs May be Grounds to Terminate
October 16, 2020 By Brian Babcock Racial slurs have no place in the workplace, and may be grounds to terminate for cause. A recent arbitration award, Levi Strauss & Co. v Workers United Canada Council, 2020 CanLII 44271 begins by noting that at one time, verbal clashes between coworkers, even ones involving racial insults were not […]
Trusts vs Agency
October 16, 2020 By Brian Babcock Trusts and agency are both legal concepts about relationships. Perhaps because of this commonality, people often confuse the two. They are quite different and recognizing which relationship exists in a particular situation may be crucial to understanding what your legal rights and responsibilities might be. There are many differences. Some […]
Do Not Sleep on Your Rights
October 8, 2020 By Brian Babcock If you are wronged, or even think you are wronged, you almost always have a time limit that applies to when you must start a proceeding to protect your rights. In Ontario, that is generally two years from the date when your claim is discovered by you. There are exceptions, […]
Errors of the Parents
September 29, 2020 By Brian Babcock According to a recent Superior Court decision in estate litigation “the errors of the parents are oft visited on their descendants.” Disagreements created by bad estate planning decisions often lead to costly law suits which do nothing to promote family harmony. There is a reason why Charles Dickens’ classic novel […]
“To Sue or Not to Sue?” That is the Question
September 23, 2020 By Brian Babcock “I was never ruined but twice: once when I lost a lawsuit, and once when I won.” So said the French writer Voltaire, commenting upon the cost of winning a law suit. As litigation lawyers, we love taking on your law suits. For most of us, a day in court […]
Human Rights and Arbitrations
September 23, 2020 By Brian Babcock May unhappy unionized employees take a grievance to an arbitrator, and at the same time apply to a human rights tribunal? Allowing two proceedings to address the same or similar complaints is inefficiency, both in terms of cost and the risk of inconsistent rulings. In Ontario, this problem is reduced […]
FIT Suppliers Beware
September 8, 2020 By Mark Mikulasik The Government of Ontario appears to be serious about strictly enforcing and interpreting energy contracts. The recent Ontario Court of Appeal decision in Grasshopper Solar Corporation v. Independent Electricity System Operator upheld this approach in a FIT contract where the supplier was unable to meet the contractually agreed upon […]
Respecting Rights is not just Right, It is Good Business
September 8, 2020 By Brian Babcock Racism is not only wrong, it can be costly. A recent Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario decision, Graham v. Enterprise Rent A Car Canada Company representing Enterprise, Alamo, and National Car Rental, illustrates that subtle or systemic racism still arises in everyday commonplace transactions, despite being contrary to the Human […]
What is Judicial Review?
August 26, 2020 By Brian Babcock Judicial review is a process by which courts supervise decisions of administrative bodies, to make sure that the decisions are fair, reasonable, and consistent with the law. If a person (or corporation) is dissatisfied by an administrative decision, they may have a right of appeal, or may apply for judicial […]
Assignment of Contracts and Good Faith
August 21, 2020 By Brian Babcock Does an agreement that requires consent to its assignment carry with it an implied understanding that consent will not be unreasonably withheld? Commercial contracts often include a clause which requires the consent of one party to the assignment of the contract by the other party to an outsider. Where these […]