Recent Cases

High profile sexual harassment and civil sexual abuse cases

Our firm acts for complainants, respondents and organizations in a number of high profile sexual harassment and civil sexual abuse cases. In recent times, complainants have come forward with current and historical allegations of sexual abuse, harassment and misconduct in a variety of workplace, entertainment and political settings. Respondents are deeply concerned about their privacy, their reputations and the fairness of allegations that may play out in social media and legal channels. Organizations need guidance on the variety of civil, regulatory and criminal avenues engaged. We have obtained excellent results on an early and confidential basis for our many complainant and respondent clients. We are also experienced in litigating such claims in court and before tribunals where necessary.


Big Win For James Lawyers

No Contracting out of Limitations Act, 2002 for Group LTD Policies: Ontario Court of Appeal

Kassburg v. Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada, 2014 ONCA 922, a decision from the Ontario Court of Appeal released on December 29, 2014, represents a big win for Long Term Disability (“LTD”) claimants and provides much needed clarity on the law of limitation periods applicable to group LTD insurance contracts in Ontario.
Andrew Wray and Niiti Simmonds of James Lawyers and Geoffrey Larmer of Larmer Stickland PC were co-counsel and successfully argued the case for the plaintiff and respondent, Karen Kassburg before the Court of Appeal for Ontario. More >>

Last year, our client brought an application under s. 116 of the Police Services Act to become a member of the Niagara Regional Police Senior Officers’ Association. The case was argued before the Ontario Civilian Police Commission, an independent oversight agency which carries out a number of adjudicative duties such as determining the status of police service members. More >>

Client Wins Large Settlement from Disability Insurer

Our client underwent brain surgery to remove a tumor and required the use of her employer’s group plan long-term disability insurance benefits to recover. After a failed attempt to return to work, the insurer denied her claim for long-term disability benefits. More >>


Individual Disabled by Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Wins CPP Appeal

Our client is an individual living with chronic fatigue syndrome and chronic sinusitis, which prevents him from working. He was denied Canada Pension Plan disability benefits and lost his first appeal to the Office of the Commissioner of Review Tribunals. More >>


Woman Cut Off from Long-Term Disability Benefits Wins Substantial Settlement

Our client was in receipt of long-term disability benefits that were arbitrarily cut off by her insurer. We commenced a law suit on behalf of our client against her disability insurer for both breach of contract and negligence. More >>


Injunction Application Resolves Acrimonious Dispute between Family and School Board

A young family with two special-needs children came to us with an ongoing disability accommodation dispute with a large school board. The children were removed from their local school by the Board’s decision. As more time passed with the dispute in a stalemate the children were in danger of losing their school year. After we brought an emergency injunction application on behalf of our clients we were able to negotiate a resolution with the school board that saw the children returned to their local school.


Injured Worker gets a Settlement from Employer who Fired Him for Alleged Misconduct

Our client was an injured worker who had been fired from his job for alleged misconduct after he had made a request for disability accommodation in the workplace. More >>


Injured Worker Suspended Indefinitely – Receives Substantial Settlement on Discrimination Claim

Our client was an injured worker who did all the right things – she filed a WSIB claim, she cooperated with her doctors, with her employer, and with the WSIB, for the purposes of returning to work. Although our client did the right things, her employer still suspended her indefinitely without pay, claiming that she could not be accommodated with her injuries. More >>


Homeowners Succeed in Stopping Neighbour from Overdeveloping Property

Our clients were homeowners who were surprised to learn of their neighbours’ plan to erect a large and unsightly structure in their rear yard. More >>


Couple Successfully Sues Timeshare Scammers

Our clients were a couple who had been tricked into parting with their hard-earned money by an unscrupulous time-share operation. More >>


Young Man with Rare Genetic Disorder Takes Government to Task and Succeeds in Getting Disability Pension

Our client was a young man who suffered from a rare genetic disorder. He was unable to work, yet the Government denied his application for a disability pension. More >>


Muslim Woman Gets Substantial Settlement in Religious Discrimination Case

Our client was a Muslim woman who was suspended from work after complaining about racial and religious discrimination that she experienced. More >>


Internet Entrepreneurs Successfully Defend Libel and Slander Suit

Our clients were internet entrepreneurs who had established a very popular social networking tool. They became involved in a libel and slander suit based on comments and statements posted by users of their software. More >>


Victim of Gender Discrimination and Reprisals Obtains Settlement from Employer

Our client was a victim of gender discrimination. She worked in a male-dominated field and was harassed by her supervisor. More >>


Employee Terminated while on Maternity Leave – Receives Substantial Settlement

Our client was a top employee with a large company. While she was on maternity leave, her employer sent her a notice of termination claiming that she was part of a mass lay-off. More >>


Sales Person Denied Commissions after Termination – Commissions Paid in Settlement

Our client was a very productive sales person for a mid-size media company. She was terminated, but her backlog of orders continued to flow into the company. More >>


Employee Reveals Disability to Employer and Gets Fired – Employer Pays Large Settlement

Our client was a successful sales person who discovered that he had a mental disability. He told his employer about his disability asking for accommodation, and was then fired a few months later for alleged performance reasons. More >>


Disabled Woman Gets 6-figure Settlement from Large Insurance Company

Our client developed a severe disability and was forced to take time off from her job. Our client, like many disabled workers, thought that she would be protected against income loss by the disability insurance she had through her employer. More >>


Property Owner Secures Injunction against Family Member Claiming Ownership to Her Recreational Property

Our client was gifted a recreational property 12 years prior to the eruption of a bitter family dispute. Specifically, a family member proceeded to take possession of the property by force and effectively barred our client from attending at or occupying the property. More >>


Motor Vehicle Inspection Station Operator Gets His Licence Back

Our client’s inspection station licence was revoked by the Ministry of Transportation. More >>