Articles 2020

This article summarizes the Court of Appeal’s decision in Wong v Pretium Resources Inc., 2022 ONCA 549, which confirms that the reliability of information can be relevant to determining the materiality of information under Ontario's Securities Act.

This article summarizes a recent certification motion emphasizing that the scope of a fiduciary duty is not always the same. When alleging a breach of fiduciary duty, class counsel should carefully consider the nature of that relationship.

Following are this week's summaries of the Court of Appeal for Ontario for the week of September 26, 2022.

Following are this week’s summaries of the Court of Appeal for Ontario for the week of September 12, 2022.

In the pharmaceutical industry, patentees occasionally find new uses for patented drugs. In those cases, courts have long held that they can obtain new patents on subsets of their old patents – called “selection patents” – if those subsets have “special advantages” not disclosed in the old patents. But what happens if the patentee doesn’t find a new use, but finds that a subset is more effective for its original uses?

Lawyers need to practice what they preach and implement a succession plan that kicks in when they are no longer willing or able to continue in the profession.

The COVID-19 pandemic has left a scar upon numerous sectors in Canada, leaving many businesses reliant on their insurance coverage plans for the resulting business losses. 202135 Ontario Inc., et al v. Northbridge General Insurance, 2022 ONCA 304 appears to be the first COVID-relating coverage case to come before the Ontario Court of Appeal. In this case, the court considered how to interpret a limit of liability clause, ultimately finding in favor of the insured.

John A. Olah was called to the bar in 1975 and since then has litigated complex tort litigation matters, ranging from product liability cases to high-profile sporting matters. John is a recognized national and international expert, acting for resorts and hotels across Canada, the Caribbean and Mexico. John’s practice includes private international law cases, complex environmental law litigation as well as class action matters.

David F. Smye, Q.C. was called to the bar in 1972 after accelerating quickly through post-secondary education studying Economics and Political Science and obtaining a degree in Law in only five years. David’s pace remained swift while his legal career made a steep ascent to partner only one year after being called to the bar. David was a founding partner of Mackesy Smye in 1973 where he has continued to practice and lead the firm for nearly 50 years.

Richard Shekter graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1973 as a Bronze Medallist. Following completion of his term of articles with Eddie Greenspan, Michael Moldaver and Alan Gold, he obtained an LL.M. from the University of California at Berkeley, summa cum laude, on a Laidlaw Foundation Scholarship, before being called to the bar in 1976. Richard served one year as law clerk to the Chief Justice of Ontario before entering private practice in 1977.