Articles 2020

This article discusses striking pleadings based on non-disclosure, focusing on the 2018 case Mullin v. Sherlock. This decision, at the time of writing, was infrequently cited on CanLii and Westlaw, which surprised the author, who found that the case provided a general framework for this type of motion, including the court’s direction that a motions judge should be specific on what is being struck, and it provides useful precedents.

This is an article about capacity issues and how the practice of family law may be impacted, including the capacity to marry (and reconcile), the capacity to make legal decisions and instruct counsel, and how the issue of capacity may be manipulated by parties seeking to use it as a sword or shield.

Tina Gill has summarized for the Family Bar recent changes that will affect their practice post-July 1, 2018 and beyond.

A family lawyer's liability can often be triggered by mishandled financial issues. This article points to six common mistakes that are made by lawyers when preparing client Financial Statements , and how to avoid them. Just as importantly, these six pointers can be used to scrutinize Financial Statements that are received from the opposing party to aid in defeating claims made against one's own client as well.

This fascinating article focuses on the internet as a resource for lawyers when seeking evidence to use in a case. Steve Benmor outlines both how the internet and all of the information therein can be used against a litigant and he provides a cautionary tale for litigants who may wish to consider what they post on-line about themselves and others. He also provides a useful list of cases that held that social networking websites are a legitimate source of evidence for the Court.

Following are the summaries of this week’s civil decisions of the Court of Appeal for Ontario.

With respect to predatory marriages, too often in the past, the predatory spouse has prevailed because the common law offers limited recourse; that is, until Hunt v. Worrod. Released in December 2017, Hunt v. Worrod may just have changed the legal landscape of predatory marriage in Ontario.

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

Barry Corbin discusses the recent decision of Justice de Sa in Cotnam v. Rousseau, 2018 CarswellOnt 69. An application under Part V of the SLRA.

Robert Shawyer provides a case comment from Hon. Curtis, J. on the term "openness".