News & Events
Superior Court Restores Mature Action to the Trial List
August 17, 2017
In Facchini v. Rosen, Justice Sproat exercised his jurisdiction to make the just order restoring this 2010 action to the trial list. By way of background, shortly before the claim was instituted on April 19, 2010, the Plaintiff entered into a share purchase transaction to sell his shares in a landscaping business to the Defendant,
Practice Area
Civil Litigation
Section 5(1)(a)(iv) of the Limitations Act, 2002: When Alternate Means of Recovery Delays the Running of the Clock
June 7, 2017
In the recent decision of Presidential MSH Corporation v Marr Foster & Co LLP, 2017 ONCA 325, the Ontario Court of Appeal further clarified the discoverability principle pursuant to section 5 of the Limitations Act, 2002 with respect to the “appropriate means” element. Specifically, a proceeding may not be “legally appropriate” as required under section
Practice Area
Civil Litigation
Cost consequences of offers to settle – When is the commencement of trial?
May 8, 2017
Offers to settle are ubiquitous in litigation. Nearly all cases settle before trial, but not all offers to settle attract the cost consequences of Rule 49. Rule 49 offers have the potential to be more advantageous for the plaintiff than the defendant. Specifically, if the plaintiff makes an offer that is rejected and obtains judgment
Practice Area
Civil Litigation
Court Corrects Breach of Natural Justice
April 4, 2017
In 2289878 Ontario v Gourmet Gringos, Justice Kristjanson set aside Master Haberman’s January 12, 2016 Order striking the defendants (the “Defendants”) statements of defence[1] and dismissing the counterclaim as a result of several breaches of procedural orders. The procedural breaches included the Defendants’ failure to prepare an affidavit of documents in compliance with the Rules
Practice Area
Civil Litigation
Notice Holdback Under the Construction Lien Act: State Your Intention
February 13, 2017
In Trenchline Construction Inc. v Metrolinx, 2016 ONSC 6136, Master Wiebe released a thorough decision, touching on numerous contentious issues between the parties not the least of which revolved around what constitutes a written notice of lien under s. 24 of the Construction Lien Act (the “CLA“). Metrolinx was the owner of a project called
Practice Area
Civil Litigation
New administrative dismissal rule does not override existing appellate powers
February 2, 2017
In anticipation of the new rule governing administrative dismissals (Rule 48.14), which came into effect on January 1, 2017, Justice Glithero of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice recently set out the applicable procedure in circumstances where an administrative dismissal date falls between an order refusing to restore an action to the trial list and
Practice Area
Civil Litigation
Expert witness immune from negligence action brought by former client
December 12, 2016
In a recent summary judgement decision, the Ontario Superior Court upheld the principle that witnesses are immune from liability for their testimony given at trial. This particular case had an interesting twist in that the plaintiffs brought an action against their own expert witness when the trial at which he testified did not go their
Practice Area
Civil Litigation
Sanderson and Bullock Orders Explained
November 10, 2016
In complex litigation, the plaintiff often names numerous defendants before a clear understanding of the relative liabilities of those defendants has been determined. It is only throughout the course of the action that certain defendants are revealed to be more at fault than others. In certain instances, it is determined that some defendants had no
Practice Area
Civil Litigation
New privacy tort penalizes sharing of intimate images
October 3, 2016
As a person reading a blog, you know the internet has changed the way we do so many things including a change to our conceptions of privacy and what constitutes an invasion of our privacy. In a recent decision, the Ontario Superior Court has recognised a new tort of public disclosure of private facts as
Practice Area
Civil Litigation
Applewood or Provincial Partitions, V.I
September 15, 2016
When it comes to registering a claim for lien, the Superior Court will not allow subcontractors to extend the date for preservation of their lien by returning to the job site to carry out trivial repairs after a subcontract is otherwise complete. What you might find interesting is what the Court considers to be a
Practice Area
Civil Litigation