Interesting Decision in Fuel Oil Spill Case
There is an interesting decision recently out of Orangeville arising out of a residential fuel oil spill. The case is Thornhill v. Highland, a decision of Mr. Justice Edwards. It is under appeal, although it is unknown whether the appeal...
Changes to Small Claims Court Rules and Procedures
You may not know that as of July 1, 2014, the Small Claims Court Rules were amended. Most notably, a defendant to a Small Claims Court action must now serve his or her own Defence (previously, the Small Claims Court...
Tsilhqot’in Nation v. British Columbia
The following is cross-posted, with permission, from the Miller Thomson Aboriginal Law Update authored by Sarah D. Hansen and Kennedy A. Bear Robe of Miller Thomson’s Vancouver office. On June 26, 2014, the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) released its...
Settlement Privilege and Mediation Contracts
This decision originating from Quebec may be of interest for Canada’s legal community. In the judgment Union Carbide Canada Inc. v. Bombardier Inc. authored by Justice Wagner (with no dissents) and released on May 8, 2014, the Supreme Court of...
SEC v. Citigroup and No-Contest Settlements
The recent decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, SEC v. Citigroup, has implications for Ontario’s new “no-contest” settlement policy. The Second Circuit overturned Judge Rakoff’s decision in the Citigroup case and confirmed that “no-contest” settlements...
Communicating with Experts
As evidenced by the recent case of Moore v. Getahun, the scope of permissible interactions between counsel and expert witnesses is a recurring issue that arises from time to time when experts are called to testify at trial. The Advocates’...
Offers to Settle and Costs
The recent decision of Mayer v. 1474479 Ontario Inc. relates to a personal injury claim arising from a motor vehicle accident, but has some interesting tidbits relating to the general principles of proportionality as it relates to the determination of cost...
Online Court Dates – Finally!
For the past year or so, the Toronto Lawyers’ Association website has been posting the next day’s court lists (for Toronto matters, naturally) on its website. Allowing counsel to see where their matter is being heard, who is presiding and...
Court of the Future
The Honourable Mr. Justice Brown is known for both his thorough and considered judgments as well as his occasional venting about inefficiencies in our court system. For instance, his 2012 endorsement in Romspen Investment Corp. v. 6176666 Canada Ltee begins with the...
Summary Judgment in Contaminated Land Litigation
Summary Judgment – a potential tool in defending contaminated land litigation In Windsor v. Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd., 2014 ABCA 108 (“Windsor”), the Alberta Court of Appeal summarily dismissed certain claims in an environmental class action. The appellant, Canadian Pacific...
