Life (Insurance) After Divorce
May 2, 2017 By Brad Smith The court decision of Moore v. Sweet has some harsh lessons for separating spouses and life insurance. Ms. Moore was married to Mr. Moore. After separation, Mr. Moore and Ms. Moore had an oral agreement he would designate Ms. Moore as the beneficiary of his life insurance policy. Ms. Moore agreed to […]
Beware The Will-Kit: The Costly Consequences Of A $9.99 Will
April 19, 2017 Why would you go to a lawyer to draft your Will, when you can create a “Do-It-Yourself” document at home for less than ten dollars? The simple answer is that the modest out-of-pocket expense now could save you and your Estate thousands of dollars in the long run. Beyond the financial consideration, […]
Tips About Tips
March 1, 2017 Picture working as a Server in a busy restaurant. You are dashing around, trying to ensure all your tables are happy. Without you noticing, one of your tables pulls the dreaded “dine and dash.” Who is left picking up the tab for this? In some cases in the past, it would have […]
Sweet Relief: Court Of Appeal Applies Relief From Forfeiture In Municipal Tax Sale Dispute
February 27, 2017 By Brian Babcock In a recent decision, Poplar Point First Nation Development Corporation v. Thunder Bay, the Ontario Court of Appeal clarified the law of “relief from forfeiture” and allowed a former property owner to recover surplus funds received by the City on a tax sale, even though the claimant had missed the one […]
A Child’s Withdrawal From Parental Control
February 14, 2017 By Brad Smith When can a child withdraw from parental control? How does the child do this? What is the role of the school, the police, the parents or the Court? All of these questions were answered by the Ontario Court of Appeal in R.G. v. K.G. A father interfered with the access between […]
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 […]
Ontario Human Rights Commission Policy Position On Medical Documentation
February 7, 2017 By Brad Smith On February 1, 2017 the Ontario Human Rights Commission released a policy statement on medical documentation when addressing accommodation requests based on disability. The policy is intended to address two questions. First, people with disabilities often provide or rely on ambiguous or vague medical notes that do not provide enough information to allow for […]
Bill 34 – Children’s Law Reform Amendment Act (Recognizing Relationship With Grandparents): A Symbolic Change
January 20, 2017 By Brad Smith Co-Authored by Nick Baxter (Law Student, Bora Laskin Faculty of Law) Bill 34, the Children’s Law Reform Amendment Act (Recognizing Relationships with Grandparents), 2016, came into force on December 8, 2016. It amended section 21(1) of the Children’s Law Reform Act to state “a parent of a child or any other person, including a […]
Trustee Tip
January 9, 2017 The Ontario Court of Appeal’s decision in Cahill v. Cahill demonstrates several valuable lessons for those who agree to be an executor or trustee. The facts in Cahill probably represent a common scenario. Through his Last Will and Testament, a father appointed his son and daughter as executors. The Will required a trust to […]
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 […]