Articles

Topics covered this week included two procedural fairness decisions (one relating to interpreting a contract in a way neither party argued, the other relating to the effect of a lengthy adjournment mid-trial), repair and storage liens in the automobile insurance context, the tort of conversion, as well as several short procedural decisions.

In Wallbridge v. Brunning, the Court of Appeal held that whether a law firm can be vicariously liable for defamatory statements made by a lawyer who practices “in association” with it, is an issue of general importance that should be determined at a trial and not on a motion for summary judgment. Other topics covered this week included several wills and estates matters, wrongful dismissal, family law (custody and abduction), limitation periods and some procedural matters.

Topics covered this week included franchise law and rescission, liability for wrongful patent enforcement, the duty to defend in the MVA context, family law (custody and access and breach of court orders), securities class actions, and mortgage enforcement. John Polyzogopoulos

“Like a forest fire in this era of climate change, costs in class proceedings have gotten out of control.” These were the opening words of Justice Perell in his recent costs decision following a successful defence motion to stay the class proceedings in Heller v Uber Technologies Inc, 2018 ONSC 1690.

The intersection of intellectual property law and competition law is an area that gains greater significance with each passing year. Much of the focus in this area recently has been on the appropriate scope of action to take by regulators. Also important, but attracting less attention, is the application of common law doctrines against contracts in restraint of trade to agreements that are based on the enforcement of intellectual property rights.

Topics covered this week included a priority dispute between insurers in a SABs case, the tort of misfeasance in public office in the context of a challenge to a governmental policy decision (the partial privatization of Hydro One), solicitor negligence, and discharges from bankruptcy.

This article considers the Ontario Court of Appeal's recent decision in Huang v. Fraser Hillary's Limited, 2018 ONCA 277, in which the court denied Ecojustice leave to intervene in an appeal.

On January 14, 2016, the Supreme Court of Canada denied Precision Plating Ltd.’s (“Precision Plating”) application for leave to appeal the British Columbia Court of Appeal’s (“BCCA”) decision in Precision Plating Ltd. v. Axa Pacific Insurance Co., (“Precision Plating v Axa”).

The civil decisions released by the Court of Appeal this week dealt with issues such as enforcement of terms of settlement, discoverability, the authority of a lawyer to act on behalf of an incapacitated client and others.

This article discusses the recent decision of DBDC Spadina Ltd. v. Walton, 2018 ONCA 60, and the implications of complex corporate structures and "shell games" for victims of fraud.