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23 Mar

Developer required to answer discovery questions about misleading other buyers

Thursday, March 23, 2023James R.G. CookLitigationAgreement of Purchase and Sale, Real Estate

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During the course of litigation, plaintiffs may seek evidence that a defendant has engaged in a similar pattern of impugned conduct with other people who...

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20 Mar

Subpoena issued for political objectives quashed

Monday, March 20, 2023Stephen A. ThieleLitigationPolitical Law, Politicians, Subpoena, Quashed

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A subpoena is a court order, usually issued as a matter of course based on a lawyer’s request, for a...

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27 Feb

Real estate agent sued for misrepresenting identity of buyer

Monday, February 27, 2023James R.G. CookLitigationRules of Civil Procedure, Real Estate

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In Ker v. Deol, 2023 ONSC 1167 (CanLII), a motion judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice considered whether the buyer’s real estate agent could be added as a defendant in a lawsuit brought...

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27 Feb

Ontario Lacrosse Association Defeats Competitor’s Motion for Injunction

Monday, February 27, 2023Stephen A. ThieleLitigationMembership, Injunction, Sports Law, Organizations

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Competition amongst sporting organizations vying for eligible, talented athletes is commonplace. Accordingly, organizations take steps to...

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24 Feb

Court of Appeal affirms that entire agreement clause is not bullet-proof

Friday, February 24, 2023Stephen A. ThieleLitigationReal Estate, Contracts, Commercial Tenancies, Entire Agreement Clauses

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Drafting clear, concise and bullet-proof provisions in a contract is an art. It takes time and a complete understanding of a client’s agreement with...

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21 Feb

Sellers not required to produce real estate lawyer’s file after terminating transaction due to lawyer’s approval condition

Tuesday, February 21, 2023James R.G. CookLitigationAgreement of Purchase and Sale, Real Estate

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An Agreement of Purchase and Sale (APS) for a real estate transaction may sometimes have a condition that allows for review of the APS by...

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17 Feb

Plaintiff fails to prove notary public’s error was the cause of losses from real estate transaction

Friday, February 17, 2023James R.G. CookLitigationBritish Columbia, Real Estate, Negligence, Professional Negligence

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In a professional negligence claim, a plaintiff must establish not only that a defendant breached the applicable standard of care but that the breach was the factual cause of the losses being claimed. Depending on the...

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17 Feb

Plaintiffs unable to establish terms of contract and entitlement to funds paid to trucking company

Friday, February 17, 2023Stephen A. Thiele, Rob WintersteinLitigationContracts, Formation, Enforceability

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Business relationships between different parties are generally governed by contracts. To be enforceable, a contract must have certainty of terms that are agreed to by the...

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14 Feb

Buyer not to entitled purchaser’s lien to recover deposit following builder’s default

Tuesday, February 14, 2023James R.G. CookLitigationLand Title Act, Real Estate, Ontario Planning Act

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Buyers of new homes sometimes enter into an Agreement of Purchase and Sale (APS) with the builder/developer of the proposed dwelling who doesn’t own the underlying land at the time the agreement is made. In such cases, it...

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13 Feb

Defence of qualified privilege available to Township for posting letters from public

Monday, February 13, 2023James R.G. CookLitigationMunicipal Act, Courts of Justice Act, Planning Act

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Municipal site plan applications have a public component that may expose an applicant to complaints from people who are opposed to their plans. As part of the...

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13 Feb

Former Chamber of Commerce employee’s defamation action allowed to continue

Monday, February 13, 2023Stephen A. ThieleLitigationTorts, Anti-SLAPP, Defamation, Motion Dismissed

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Although section 137.1 of the Courts of Justice Act (the “CJA”), the “anti-SLAPP provision”, has become a powerful tool to dismiss defamation actions at an early stage, there is certainly no guarantee that its use will always be...

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10 Feb

Owner of corporation faces personal liability for stripping assets following lease default

Friday, February 10, 2023James R.G. CookLitigationCorporations Act, Corporate Law, Lease Agreement, Business Corporations Act

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Corporations are separate legal persons with their own property rights and obligations. Individual shareholders are not generally liable for any acts or...

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10 Feb

“Sugar Daddy’s” $226 million action against “Sugar Baby” dismissed

Friday, February 10, 2023Stephen A. ThieleLitigationSummary Judgment, Civil Procedure, Limitation Periods

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Technology has expanded the ability of people to meet others who they otherwise may have never met in a purely paper-based world. Indeed, entrepreneurs have...

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3 Feb

Seller ordered to obtain severance of residential properties to complete transaction

Friday, February 3, 2023James R.G. CookLitigationReal Estate, Ontario Planning Act

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In a real estate transaction, the seller must be in a position to ensure that good title is conveyed to a buyer at closing. In the time leading up to...

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31 Jan

Does a bank have a duty to warn a customer before carrying out a suspicious transaction?

Tuesday, January 31, 2023James R.G. CookLitigationBritish Columbia, Fraud, Exclusion Clauses , Application for Remittance

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If a customer walks into a bank and asks a teller to carry out a certain transaction, does the bank owe the customer a duty to...

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27 Jan

Complaint about changes to Greenbelt Plan against Premier Ford not worthy of inquiry

Friday, January 27, 2023Stephen A. ThieleLitigationPolitical Law, Integrity Commissioner Complaint, Dismissal

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Premier Doug Ford continues to be the target of Integrity Commissioner complaints by opposing members of Ontario’s legislators. Although there is...

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27 Jan

Seller allowed to re-schedule Tarion closing date following “unavoidable delay”

Friday, January 27, 2023James R.G. CookLitigationOntario, Agreement of Purchase and Sale, Real Estate

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New homes in Ontario may include a warranty from the builder for certain construction deficiencies and other...

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16 Jan

Freedom of expression prevails in responses to COVID-19 protest organizers’ defamation action

Monday, January 16, 2023Stephen A. ThieleLitigationTorts, Anti-SLAPP, Defamation

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March 2020 will live in our memories forever. It is the month that, among other things, the world panicked, that governments issued emergency orders to shutdown...

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6 Jan

Court orders removal of Facebook posts under cyber-bullying law

Friday, January 6, 2023Stephen A. ThieleLitigationRemedies, Cyber-bullying, Removal of online posts

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The use of social media to threaten, intimidate or harass someone is an obvious cause of concern in our society. Young people are particularly vulnerable to social media harassment or what has...

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6 Jan

Claim against Google for hosting defamatory reviews allowed to proceed

Friday, January 6, 2023James R.G. CookLitigationDefamation, Removal of online posts, Google, Online Reviews

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Online search engines such as Google allow businesses to market their services to a wide customer base. Businesses may also be subject to online reviews which are...

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19 Dec

Lender can’t evict bona fide tenants from property notwithstanding mortgagor’s fraud

Monday, December 19, 2022James R.G. CookLitigationResidential Tenancies, Mortgage Fraud, Real Estate, Ontario Mortgages Act, Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, Mortgage

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Courts must occasionally balance property interests between innocent parties who have been victimized by the dishonest or fraudulent conduct of another person. This may involve a conflict between...

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12 Dec

Insurer De-Listing: The Hidden Penalty of a Health Professions’ Discipline Committee Finding

Monday, December 12, 2022Lad KucisLitigation, Health LawDisciplinary Hearing

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As a lawyer who regularly assists regulated health professionals (RHPs) in matters before their respective Discipline Committees, I wanted to alert RHPs about... 

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9 Dec

Interlocutory injunction denied for failure to provide undertaking in damages

Friday, December 9, 2022Stephen A. Thiele, Alexander Melfi, Rob WintersteinLitigationRules of Civil Procedure, Interlocutory Injunction

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An interlocutory injunction is a powerful and drastic remedy which Courts have said should only be granted sparingly. In that regard,...

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9 Dec

Letters Rogatory for disclosure in California divorce proceeding enforced in Ontario

Friday, December 9, 2022James R.G. CookLitigationCanada Evidence Act, Ontario Evidence Act

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As a matter of international comity, Ontario courts will take steps to recognize and enforce requests for assistance issued by foreign courts provided that certain...

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8 Dec

Responding to Complaints Before the College of Chiropractors of Ontario: A Defence Lawyer’s Perspective

Thursday, December 8, 2022Lad KucisLitigation, Health LawComplaints, College of Chiropractors of Ontario

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As legal counsel for chiropractors, we are regularly asked questions about the complaints process before the College of... 

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2 Dec

Court orders production of subsequent lawyer’s file

Friday, December 2, 2022Stephen A. ThieleLitigationEvidence, Privilege, Solicitor-Client, Waiver

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Although solicitor-client privilege is a fundamental civil and legal right belonging to a client, the right is not absolute and...

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2 Dec

Anti-SLAPP motion fails to stop Canadian Tire’s claim against alleged perpetrators of fraudulent after-sales service program

Friday, December 2, 2022James R.G. CookLitigationFraud, Courts of Justice Act, Anti-SLAPP

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Motions under section 137.1 of the Ontario Courts of Justice Act (CJA) are typically brought to dismiss defamation claims involving expressions on matters of public interest. However, while the...

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2 Dec

Council Resolution Restricting Communications of Councillor Unreasonable and Punitive

Friday, December 2, 2022Stephen A. ThieleLitigationPolitical Law, Remedies, Integrity Commissioner, Judicial Review

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Municipal governments are said to have the most influence on the day-to-day lives of residents. Accordingly, city staff and elected representatives, who in Ontario run as independent...

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1 Dec

Neighbour ordered to remove obstructions on mutual driveway

Thursday, December 1, 2022James R.G. CookLitigationReal Estate

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As we discussed in a previous blog, an easement may become abandoned as a legal right as a result of prolonged lack of use. However, there is...

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25 Nov

Defamatory statements made in a pleading are immune to attack

Friday, November 25, 2022Stephen A. ThieleLitigationDefences, Torts, Defamation, Absolute Privilege

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The law of defamation permits a defendant to raise specialized defences to defeat a claim. The most common defences are...

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