Articles 2023

On November 18, 2021, the Supreme Court of Canada rendered its decision on whereby an insurer may be allowed to deny coverage based on a policy breach discovered several years down the road.

The progress made over the pandemic to use technology to make the civil legal system more efficient, affordable, and accessible shall hopefully continue.  This article will set out benefits and drawbacks of virtual examinations for discovery, draw the reader’s attention to four decisions dealing with virtual examinations, provide key takeaways from these decisions, and share resources to assist in conducting a virtual examination.

The release of MDS Inc. v. Factory Mutual Insurance Company from the Ontario Court of Appeal, rounded out 2021 with another major insurance-related appellate decision primarily authored by Justice Julie Thorburn (also responsible for crafting the written reasons in the seminal multi-insurer coverage decision, Markham (City) v. AIG released in mid-2020). This article summarizes why the MDS v. Factory Mutual decision is important for any insurance-related and contractual interpretation dispute.

An insurer requests the Court of Appeal rewrite an exclusion in the insurer’s favour.

Who should be responsible for paying for productions prior to examinations for discovery in personal injury matters? It is my position that the onus of proof remains with the Plaintiff and that, therefore, they should be producing documentation to substantiate the claims advanced in the Statement of Claim. Why should the Defendant pay for productions to assist the Plaintiff’s claim? In the decision of Rheaume v. Foster, we received some more clarity on this issue.

The Ontario Bar Association’s Neutral Diversity Committee has crafted a survey to collect information about OBA member experiences and views in relation to mediator and arbitrator diversity. OBA members engaged in litigation, mediation and arbitration are invited to share their views.

The significant lengthening of civil proceedings has naturally led to an extraordinary increase in legal costs associated with these cases. Our law respecting Offers to Settle is designed to make the loser pay the winner’s legal fees. This creates significant risk in almost every personal injury case. Because of the increased expense of trials, settlement at private mediation must almost always be considered.

It’s not a matter of if, but when. Technology continues to develop in ways that are both amazing and alarming and allow us to connect in ways we would have previously considered unimaginable. With increased technological advancement and reliance, however, comes increased opportunities for hackers to exploit vulnerabilities and access hoards of sensitive personal and corporate data, which means increased cyber risks for more and more organizations.