What is Contributory Negligence?
September 18, 2023 By Brian Babcock What happens when an injured person is partly at fault for their own injury? At one time, historically, any negligence by the injured party (the Plaintiff) and they were totally barred from suing. This was great news for people that left the sidewalks unmaintained or for careless drivers. A […]
The Duty to Report a Claim
August 2, 2023 By Jonathon Clark If you or your business has a potential claim under your insurance policy, you are required to notify your insurer as soon as possible. This is seldom a problem for property insurance claims since you would want to notify the insurer so that they can investigate and write you […]
Taking Trial Dates Seriously
May 19, 2023 By Brian Babcock Getting your pleadings right in a timely fashion is an important, if often neglected, part of managing your lawsuit. If you do not, you may lose your trial date or have your amendment rejected. THE ISSUE The Court of Appeal has provided us with a fresh example in a […]
What Is “Total Disability?”
January 20, 2023 By Nick Melchiorre The phrase “total disability” is used frequently in government benefits and private disability insurance plans. But how do you know whether you, your employee, or a loved one is totally disabled? The first thing to know is that the determination will depend primarily on the particular legislation, plan, regulation, […]
How Much Automobile Liability Coverage Do I Need?
October 14, 2022 By Brian Babcock No matter how often we try to explain to clients or others that insurance brokers are the best people to ask, this is probably the question we get most often about insurance. THE ISSUE If you are at fault in an accident, your personal assets and income may be […]
Check Your Insurance
September 11, 2022 By Brian Babcock If you are like most of us you think about your property insurance – either commercial or personal – once a year upon renewal, if then. THE ISSUE As with any other type of insurance, you need to review your property insurance anytime you have a significant change – […]
When Is A Second Discovery Necessary?
April 24, 2022 By Brian Babcock Oral examinations for discovery out of court are a long established means of preventing “trial by ambush” under Ontario’s Rules of Civil Procedure. In most cases, each party is allowed to examine the others once, with time limits that may be extended where appropriate. Each person examined must correct […]
What is Promissory Estoppel?
April 2, 2022 By Brian Babcock Promissory estoppel is the legal system’s version of “no backsies”. More formally, it is an equitable defence designed to protect you if another person attempts to back out of a promise after you have changed your legal position in reliance upon the promise. In Trial Lawyers Association of British […]
Nothing but the Facts: A Story About Interpreting Contracts
March 26, 2022 By Brian Babcock It is dangerous to fall in love with an attractive legal quotation and expect that it will decide your case in your favour. Most lawsuits are ninety per cent about the facts and only ten per cent about the law. That is a truism that I was taught many […]
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 […]