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Closely-held Corporations (and other businesses): Avoiding Litigation and Other Unnecessary Business Ownership Catastrophes
Wednesday, May 11, 2022Richard C. HoffmanCorporation, Partnership, Litigation
Everyone always (or almost always) understands that, at any and every given moment in time, he/she is thinking “clearly” and “reasonably”. Given such universal reality, it generally or otherwise often flows that
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Costs for online legal research continue to be scrutinized by the courts
Tuesday, May 10, 2022Stephen A. ThieleCosts, Legal Research, Procedure
When I first entered law school in 1987, Quicklaw was the only online legal research tool available to
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Could full indemnity costs become the norm in defamation actions?
Monday, May 9, 2022Stephen A. ThieleCosts, Defamation, Torts
As the use of social media platforms continues to grow, there is a correspondingly growing danger that the misuse of these platforms can cause devastating damage to
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Action stayed as a result of plaintiff’s failure to disclose settlement
Friday, January 28, 2022Real Estate, Lease Agreement
Litigation often involves claims by a plaintiff against multiple parties. Defendants in such actions may or may not crossclaim against each other but they are presumed to be adverse to
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Jurisdictional Door on the Small Claims Court Slammed Shut for Anti-SLAPP Motions
Friday, January 28, 2022Anti-SLAPP Legislation, Anti-SLAPP
Anti-SLAPP or section 137.1 of the Courts of Justice Act (“CJA”) motions for the early dismissal of claims involving issues arising from an expression related to
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Defamation basics and pre-trial disposition motions
Monday, January 24, 2022Defamation, Torts, Pre-trial Disposition
We have written a lot about defamation cases on this blog and the pre-trial disposition of defamation actions under...
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Update: New Reporting Requirements For Trusts
Thursday, January 20, 2022Trusts
In a previous blog post, we discussed the proposed new T3 Trust Income Tax and Information Return reporting and filing requirements for certain express trusts. These changes
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Watchdog’s defamation action against municipality allowed to continue
Monday, January 17, 2022Defamation, Political Law, Torts, SLAPP
The law of defamation in the political arena has a long history. Passionate sparring between political opponents and the tendency to attack an...
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CBC liable for defaming investment advisor
Tuesday, January 4, 2022Defamation, CBC
In June 2012, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) televised two news stories featuring a retired Canadian Pacific Railway employee who claimed to have lost more than half of...
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Divisional Court upholds Integrity Commissioner decision: Councillor’s pay suspended for 270 days
Friday, December 31, 2021Municipal Act, Integrity Complaints
Politicians are not above the law. Indeed, they occupy a position in our democratic society which obligates them to behave with the utmost integrity and in accordance with the office they...
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Prophylactic disgorgement order in case of corporate malfeasance imposed by Ontario Court of Appeal
Thursday, December 23, 2021Venture Capital, Funds
In a decision that involved “acceptable standards of corporate conduct in Canada,” the Ontario Court of Appeal addressed the breakdown of the relationship between five founders of a venture capital fund...
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Distribution under ambiguous disposition provision in Will made on a per stirpes basis
Wednesday, December 22, 2021Wills, Interpretation
A Last Will and Testament is an important document that, among other things, permits the smooth distribution of a person’s estate after his or her death. It is, of course,...
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Cineplex awarded $1.2 billion following failed pandemic courtship
Monday, December 20, 2021Material Adverse Effect (MAE)
In a remarkable trial decision resulting from a breach of contract claim commenced during the COVID-19 pandemic, Cineplex Inc. obtained a damages award in the amount of $1.2 billion against the former suitor of...
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Declaration of vacancy of Council member’s seat not stayed pending Councillor’s appeal
Wednesday, December 15, 2021Municipal Conflict of Interest, Stay Pending Appeal
On November 29, 2021, I wrote a Gardiner Roberts LLP “Keeping Current” article on the decision in Corporation of the Township of Brudenll, Lyndock and Raglan (Integrity Commissioner) v. Budarick, 2021 ONSC 7635 (CanLII). In that...
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Court sets aside non-competition injunction
Tuesday, December 14, 2021Injunction, Non-competition injunction
An injunction that prevents a person from competing with a former employer can be devastating to the party subject to the injunction. Accordingly, where such...
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Court upholds removal of lawyers who will be witnesses
Monday, December 13, 2021Professionals, Lawyers, Removal from the record
Lawyers are obligated to avoid acting on matters where they have a conflict of interest. A lawyer cannot act against a current client and must follow certain ethical rules and practices when acting for...
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Treatment of Digital Assets on Death
Friday, December 3, 2021Social Media, Etherium, Litecoin, Ripple, Cardano, Dogecoin, Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT)
“Water is a useful metaphor for digital assets; they are just as fluid, ever-changing, and dynamic, which presents both...
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Law firm obtains injunction against former associate after Thanksgiving weekend coup
Thursday, December 2, 2021
At 1 p.m. on the Friday afternoon of the October 2021 Thanksgiving long weekend, a lawyer employed as an associate in the Brampton location of the firm...
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Self-defence prevails in recreational hockey league stick-swinging incident
Wednesday, December 1, 2021Hockey, Sports Law, Assault with a weapon, Self-defence
Hockey is one of Canada’s most popular sports. From a young age, many children are taught how to skate and are either registered in organized ice hockey leagues or...
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Sellers not allowed to rely on “escape clause” to accept a better offer
Monday, November 29, 2021Agreement of Purchase and Sale, GTA Real Estate
In some cases, sellers may wish to ‘hedge their bets’ by accepting a conditional offer that contains a term allowing them to continue to market the property for sale until...
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City Councillor gets burned for municipal conflict of interest over a matter involving a fire
Monday, November 29, 2021Political Law, Conflict of Interest, Removal from office
Municipal councillors and local board members are obligated to avoid participating in matters where their economic self-interest may be in conflict with...
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Porch bandits - adverse possession remains alive and well in Toronto
Friday, November 26, 2021Land Title Act, GTA Real Estate
The doctrine of adverse possession remains alive and well in Toronto despite the conversion of most properties into the Land Titles registry system many...
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Ford wins again! Court of Appeal for Ontario upholds dismissal of defamation action against him
Friday, November 26, 2021Defamation, Torts, SLAPP
Section 137.1 of the Courts of Justice Act (the “CJA”) has made it harder for a plaintiff to maintain a defamation action against a defendant where the issue related to the expression involves a matter of...
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Unfulfilled Promise to Transfer Family Property Upheld by Court of Appeal for Ontario
Monday, November 22, 2021
In a recent decision, the Court of Appeal addressed the longstanding relationship in estate litigation between the enforceability of promises, unjust enrichment, and the remedy...
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The ONCA at one month: the good, the bad, and the frequently misunderstood
Monday, November 22, 2021Not-for-profit Corporations Act (ONCA)
The Ontario Not-for-Profit Corporations Act, 2010 (the “ONCA”) came into effect as of October 19, 2021, and there are a number of misconceptions about its effect on existing corporations incorporated under the...
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Lawyer who was not provided the opportunity to be heard about breach of duty to the court was denied procedural fairness
Friday, November 5, 2021Procedural Fairness
Professional reputations which take years to build can be damaged by negative comments in judicial reasons, which are publicly available on CanLII and...
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Realtor’s full and final release extended to cover brokerage
Wednesday, November 3, 2021Real Estate, Commercial Real Estate
Litigation claims or the threat thereof are often settled by way of payment by one party to the other in exchange for a full and...
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Lawyer not added as a defendant to counterclaim in real estate dispute
Tuesday, November 2, 2021Rules of Civil Procedure, Real Estate
In general, rules governing the amendment of pleadings in a civil action are generous. Courts are mandated to allow amendments. However in circumstances where an...
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Stepfather’s mortgage to stepdaughter determined to be a gift rather than a loan
Monday, November 1, 2021Loans, Real Estate, GTA Real Estate, Monetary Gift, Brampton
Family members who provide financial assistance to each other for the purpose of purchasing real estate may intend that such funds be a gift without any expectation of...
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Ontario Court of Appeal upholds setting aside of a notice of discontinuance
Monday, November 1, 2021Rules of Civil Procedure, Real Estate
On August 3, 2020, lawyers at Gardiner Roberts LLP were successful in getting a notice of discontinuance set aside for their real estate brokerage...
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