Articles 2021

Below are the summaries for last week’s civil decisions of the Court of Appeal. Topics covered included defamation, municipal liability, MVA, breach of contract, family law, wills and estates, tax, crown wardship and several procedural decisions covering jurisdiction/forum non conveniens, civil contempt, extensions of time to perfect appeals and striking pleadings.

Summaries for this week’s civil decisions of the Court of Appeal. Topics covered this week include several family law decisions, police liability, the interpretation of municipal procurement bylaws, which is to be reviewed on a standard of correctness, and an unsuccessful attempt to enforce international arbitral awards obtained against a foreign state against the assets of a corporation wholly owned by that state.

Here are the summaries for this week’s civil decisions of the Court of Appeal. It was a fairly uneventful week, the most substantive decision being a family law case on the issue of variation of spousal support arising out of a material change in circumstances. The other cases mainly dealt with procedural issues (consolidation of applications under the Substitute Decisions Act, adjournments, summary judgment, and applications under Rule 14.05).

Summaries for this week’s civil decisions of the Court of Appeal. Topics covered include commercial leasing, by-law enforcement, municipal liability, assessments under the Solicitors Act, pension obligations under a contract and family law.

Topics covered this week included interlocutory vs final orders for the purpose of appeal in the context of summary judgment, the triggering of the duty to defend under a CGL insurance policy, MVA, re-opening an appeal on a new ground not previously raised, real and substantial connection, and exclusion clauses in equipment leases.

The recent decision of the Court of Appeal for Ontario in Novatrax International Inc. v. Hägele Landtechnik GmbH provides a prime example of how arbitration clauses can complicate, rather than simplify matters. The result in that case is that there may now be more than one proceeding to resolve the dispute – an arbitration, plus a court case.

Civil topics covered included MVA, SABs, family law, vexatious litigants, employment law, simplified procedure and another chapter in the Indian Residential Schools settlement.The RJM56 Investments Inc v Kurnik decision highlights the importance of litigators not treating the tax implications of a settlement as an afterthought and of obtaining tax advice before completing a settlement.