A Damage Award to Discourage Age Discrimination in IBM Canada Limited v Waterman
There is a somewhat peculiar fact pattern in the case of IBM Canada Limited v Waterman, 2013 SCC 70. It led to an unusual outcome, to the benefit of the respondent-plaintiff, in which the Court...
View ArticleDefaulting Purchasers Lose their Deposits, Even in Rising Real Estate Markets
One of the fundamental principles of contract law is that damages are based on the actual loss suffered by the innocent party when there is a breach of contract. Damages restore the innocent party to...
View ArticleWestern Larch Limited v Di Poce Management Limited: The Enforceability of...
In Western Larch Limited v Di Poce Management Limited, 2013 ONCA 722 [Western Larch], a decision released on November 29, 2013, the Ontario Court of Appeal reviewed the exercise of a shotgun buy-sell...
View ArticleBanking for Federalism: SCC to hear Appeal in Bank of Montreal (BMO) v Marcotte
BMO v Marcotte (Marcotte) is part of a trilogy of cases (Federation des Caisses Desjardins du Quebec v Marcotte, and Amex Bank of Canada v Adams) that question the banks’ role in society. All three of...
View ArticleKozel v The Personal Insurance Company: Failure to Renew a Driver’s License,...
In Kozel v The Personal Insurance Company, 2014 ONCA 130 [Kozel], a decision released on February 19, 2014, the Ontario Court of Appeal considered the scope of relief from forfeiture pursuant to...
View ArticleAppeal Watch: Bhasin v Hrynew Submissions Before the SCC
On February 12, 2014, the Supreme Court of Canada heard an appeal from the Alberta Court of Appeal’s decision in Bhasin v Hrynew, 2013 ABCA 98. My previous analysis of the ruling can be found here on...
View ArticleQuashing Specific Performance and Piercing the Veil: Southcott Estates Inc v...
Southcott Estates Inc v Toronto Catholic District School Board, [2012] 2 SCR 675, is about an agreement to buy surplus school land for use as a housing development. The school board did not complete...
View ArticleR v Schmidt: Call them “Cow-Share Agreements”… But You’re Still Just...
In R v Schmidt, 2014 ONCA 188 [Schmidt], a decision released on March 11, 2014, the Ontario Court of Appeal considered the legality of a milk farmer’s scheme to sell unpasteurized milk and milk...
View ArticleThe Supreme Court Confirms the Principle of Employee Protection in Quebec:...
The decision in Quebec (Commission des normes du travail) v Asphalte Desjardins inc., 2014 SCC 51, demonstrates the Supreme Court of Canada’s support for employee protection while leaving an unclear...
View ArticleAddison & Leyen Ltd v Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP: An Illustration of...
In Addison & Leyen Ltd v Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP, 2014 ABCA 230 [Addison & Leyen], the Alberta Court of Appeal (“ABCA”) handed down a short but significant decision. Fraser Milner Casgrain...
View ArticleSupreme Court of Canada Defers to Adjudicators: Sattva Capital Corp v Creston...
On August 1, 2014, Canada’s highest court released its reasons in Sattva Capital Corp v Creston Moly Corp, 2014 SCC 53, marking an end to a series of long and protracted proceedings intended to be...
View ArticleIndemnification and Real Estate Fraud: The Use of ex turpi causa non oritur...
In Tran v Kerr, 2014 ABCA 350, the Alberta Court of Appeal (“ABCA”) clarified the circumstances under which a lawyer, involved in a fraudulent real estate transaction, is liable for the losses of the...
View ArticleMarriage and Agency: Swift v Tomecek Roney and a Statement Against Assumptions
After a custom built home was found to have significant structural defects, the homeowners (“the Swifts”) sued the designer of the home (“the Architects”). This case provides clear guidance on the law...
View ArticleBhasin and Beyond: Ontario Court of Appeal Dismisses Contracts Appeal in High...
In High Tower Homes Corporation v Stevens, 2014 ONCA 911, the Court of Appeal for Ontario applied numerous contract law topics in disposing of an appeal regarding an agreement of purchase and sale in...
View ArticleSupreme Court Declares a New Common Law Duty of Honest Performance: Bhasin v...
The Supreme Court of Canada has declared a new common law duty that will affect contract law in all the common law jurisdictions of Canada. In a December ruling, Bhasin v Hrynew, 2014 SCC 71, the Court...
View ArticleUnion Carbide Canada Inc v Bombardier Inc: A Clarification of Privilege and...
In Union Carbide Canada Inc v Bombardier Inc, [2014] 1 SCR 800 [Union Carbide], the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) clarified the interaction between settlement privilege and confidentiality clauses in...
View ArticleRankin Construction Inc v Ontario: Lessons in the Law of Tender
On September 16, 2014, the Ontario Court of Appeal (ONCA) released its decision in Rankin Construction Inc v Ontario 2014 ONCA 636 [Rankin]. In the decision, Justice Hoy helps to clarify the law of...
View ArticleVan Camp v Laurentian Bank of Canada: Discharging Contracts and Unjust...
Van Camp v Laurentian Bank of Canada, 2015 ABCA 83 [Van Camp], is predicated on a dispute between the Laurentian Bank (“Bank”) and the Van Camps. The Bank sought recovery from the Van Camps for debts...
View ArticleEmployer Wrongfully Operated in Secret: Potter v New Brunswick Legal Aid...
The Supreme Court of Canada’s (“SCC”) decision in Potter v New Brunswick Legal Aid Services, 2015 SCC 10 [Potter], calls on employers to communicate transparently with employees, unless legitimate...
View ArticleLiability and Franchise Agreements: The Court of Appeal Protects Franchisee...
In 2176693 Ontario Ltd v Cora Franchise Group Inc, 2015 ONCA 152, the Ontario Court of Appeal (“ONCA”) decided whether a clause of a franchise agreement, that required a franchisee to release the...
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