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Watchdog’s defamation action against municipality allowed to continue
Monday, January 17, 2022Stephen A. ThieleLitigationDefamation, 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, 2022James R.G. CookLitigationDefamation, 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, 2021Stephen A. ThieleLitigationMunicipal 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, 2021James R.G. CookLitigationVenture 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, 2021Stephen A. Thiele, Howard Wolch, Lindsay Ann Histrop, Eli BordmanLitigation, Estate PlanningWills, 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, 2021James R.G. CookLitigationMaterial 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, 2021Stephen A. ThieleLitigation, Political LawMunicipal 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, 2021Stephen A. Thiele, Howard WolchLitigationInjunction, 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, 2021Stephen A. Thiele, Anna Husa, Lauren RakowskiLitigationProfessionals, 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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Law firm obtains injunction against former associate after Thanksgiving weekend coup
Thursday, December 2, 2021James R.G. CookLitigation
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, 2021Stephen A. ThieleLitigationHockey, 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, 2021James R.G. CookLitigation, Real EstateAgreement 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, 2021Stephen A. ThieleLitigationPolitical 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, 2021James R.G. CookLitigationLand 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, 2021Stephen A. Thiele, Alexander Melfi, Gavin J. TigheLitigationDefamation, 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, 2021James R.G. CookLitigation, Estate Planning
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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Lawyer who was not provided the opportunity to be heard about breach of duty to the court was denied procedural fairness
Friday, November 5, 2021James R.G. CookLitigationProcedural 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, 2021James R.G. CookLitigationReal 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, 2021Stephen A. Thiele, James R.G. CookLitigationRules 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, 2021James R.G. CookLitigationLoans, 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, 2021Stephen A. Thiele, Anna Husa, Gavin J. TigheLitigationRules 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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Investor required to return funds received for limited partnership units based on calculation mistake
Friday, October 29, 2021James R.G. CookLitigation
In certain circumstances, the legal doctrines of common mistake and rectification may provide a remedy to a party who has paid out funds that are based upon admitted errors in...
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Lawyer wins $500,000 in defamation action
Thursday, October 28, 2021Stephen A. ThieleLitigationDefamation, Damages, Torts
Damage awards in a defamation case can be significant. This is especially the case where the person defamed is a professional. In Soliman v. Bordman, 2021 ONSC 7023, a prominent and...
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Examining former NHL player Kyle Beach’s sexual abuse lawsuit from a Canadian Employment law perspective
Thursday, October 28, 2021Soma Ray-EllisLitigation, Employment LawOccupational Health and Safety Act, Ontario Human Rights Code
On Wednesday, former Chicago Blackhawks forward Kyle Beach came forward and identified himself as ‘John Doe’, the individual who filed a lawsuit against the NHL team over how...
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Buyers bound to agreement of purchase and sale negotiated by family friend
Tuesday, October 26, 2021James R.G. CookLitigation, Real EstateAgreement of Purchase and Sale, GTA Real Estate
Buyers who rely on real estate services provided by a family friend would do well to ensure that they are fully aware of the consequences of entering into a...
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Mortgage lender did not breach duty of honest contractual performance
Monday, October 25, 2021James R.G. CookLitigation, Real EstateOntario Mortgages Act
A mortgage lender enforcing its rights under a mortgage may owe the borrower a duty to do so honestly and in good faith. However, this does not mean that...
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Defamer gets 18 month jail sentence for contempt of court
Thursday, October 21, 2021Stephen A. ThieleLitigationDefamation, Torts, Remedies, Contempt of Court
In the law of defamation, we only tend to think about the damages that are awarded for a person’s loss of reputation or the intellectual analysis conducted by...
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Ontario’s “appropriate means” test for limitation periods after Grant Thornton v. New Brunswick
Tuesday, October 19, 2021James R.G. CookLitigationLimitation Periods, Ontario Limitations Act
As we recently wrote, the Supreme Court of Canada’s recent decision on limitation periods in Grant Thornton v New Brunswick, 2021 SCC 31 (CanLII), left open the question of how
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Snapchat post results in liability for defamation
Monday, October 18, 2021James R.G. CookLitigationDefamation, Social Media
Capturing and reposting a screen shot of a private Snapchat photo sent by another person can result in liability for damages if it includes defamatory comments about...
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Incorrect Counting of Unused Ballots Results in Judicial Recount
Friday, October 15, 2021Stephen A. ThieleLitigationPolitical Law, Election Law , Recounts
An election is not officially over until all of the ballots are counted and the results are certified by the Chief Electoral Officer. This includes the...
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