What can a group do if it is denied official recognition by a governing association? What can a member do if they are expelled from a group? What happens when there is a dispute between members? In what circumstances and to what degree will a court intervene in the activities and decisions of groups? The […]
Employees’ Personal Liability for Negligence – Sataur v. Starbucks Coffee Canada Inc., 2017 ONCA 1017 (CanLII) In Sataur v. Starbucks Coffee Canada Inc., 2017 ONCA 1017 (“Sataur”), the appellant, Abigail Sataur, pleaded that she was injured when a barista at a Starbucks in Brampton poured scalding hot water on her hands. Ms. Sataur sued Starbucks, […]
Employers Tread Carefully – The Manner of Dismissing an Employee Can Cost You Close to A Million Dollars In December 2017, Justice Emery of the Ontario Superior Court awarded Gail Galea approximately $1.6 million in damages for her wrongful dismissal by Wal-Mart Canada. What is truly remarkable about this decision, is Justice Emery’s award of […]
Tribunals Cannot Use Legislation to Obtain Documents Protected By Solicitor-Client Privilege Unless It Contains “Clear, Explicit and Unequivocal” Language. In Alberta (Information and Privacy Commissioner) v. University of Calgary, 2016 SCC 53, the Supreme Court protected documents subject to solicitor-client privilege from being released under Section 53 of Alberta’s Freedom of Information and Protection of […]
Supreme Court of Canada Upholds Common Law Rule That Positive Covenants Do Not Run With The Land. In the 2016 decision in Heritage Capital Corp. v. Equitable Trust 2016 SCC 19, the Supreme Court of Canada (‘SCC’) held that Equitable Trust was not entitled to payments under the Historical Resources Act (HRA) as part of […]
The Ontario Court Of Appeal held in its recent decision of 2260695 Ontario Inc. v. Invecom Associates Limited 2017 ONCA 70 that Invecom had violated the terms of their Agreement of Purchase and Sale and therefore had to forfeit its deposit. In this case the appellant gave a $400,000 deposit to three numbered corporations (collectively […]
A “Statement of Fact” Defence Can Fail If the Court Finds Malice in Libellous Comments In a 2016 decision, the ONCA overturned the trial judge’s decision in Awan v. Levant ONCA 2016 970. Khurrum Awan brought a defamation suit against Ezra Levant relating to nine blog posts that accused the plaintiff of being a “liar” […]
Under the Rules of Civil Procedure 29.1, all parties to an action must agree to a discovery plan if they intend to obtain evidence through documents, oral examination, inspection of property, medical examination or examination for discovery by written questions. This plan must be submitted within 60 days of the close of pleadings and before […]
In May of 2017, the Ontario Government announced a proposal to eliminate the Ontario Municipal Board. Under the new proposal, disputes with municipal land planning decisions will instead be appealed to the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT). The LPAT will exist as an independent tribunal that operates at arm’s length from the government. If the […]
RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE 21.1: MANDATORY MEDIATION. Under the Ontario Rules of Civil Procedure 21.1, civil litigation trials in Toronto, Ottawa and Windsor are subject to the Mandatory Mediation Program. Under this program, actions that are subject to case management must be mediated by a private sector mediator whose goal is to assist the parties […]
