Articles 2023

When litigation arises regarding the proper interpretation of a contract, a common question courts consider is whether extrinsic evidence can be used to vary or modify seemingly unambiguous terms of the binding agreement.

This recent Supreme Court of Canada decision could restrict the ability of judgment creditors to garnish bank transactions. This is a somewhat esoteric banking law case, but it may impact basic debtor/creditor and collection law, the standard fare of many civil, commercial and even family litigators

When defending a plaintiff’s claim for damages allegedly sustained in a motor vehicle accident, a defence that should be considered is the argument that the plaintiff’s damages do not meet threshold.

A letter of request (or letter rogatory) is a request from a foreign court asking the Ontario court to assist in the gathering of evidence for a foreign legal proceeding, either by compelling testimony under oath or by ordering the production of documents for use at trial (or both). 

Kovachis v. Dunn,2011 ONSC 4174 (CanLII) confirms that failure to renew a writ of fieri facias (also referred to as a writ of seizure and sale or writ of execution) within the 20-year limitation period under the old Limitations Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. L.15...

The debate over the likely ameliorative or exacerbating effects on certification of class actions arising from the recent decision in Pennyfeather v. Timminco has been heated.

In national class action lawsuits where putative class members have suffered injuries, Family Law Act claimants (“FLA Claimants”) residing outside of Ontario may be excluded from damage awards.

Fraud remains an ever present, if not growing, feature of the business and legal landscape in Canada. As is so often the case, the legal contest which arises from fraudulent activity lies between two innocent parties, while the fraudster...

Judicial mediation, mediation roster rates, the recent position paper from the College of Physician & Surgeons of Ontario on experts. Just three of the important issues the Civil Litigation Executive is considering on behalf of OBA litigation lawyers.

For many litigators who do not regularly appear in the Federal Court it can be quite intimidating. Many practises and procedures in the Federal Court, while similar in many respects to those of several other jurisdictions, such as Ontario, are also quite different in many respects.