It is finally spring! Apart from the flowers that will be blooming and the warmer winds blowing through, spring brings with it a re-awakening of our thirst for knowledge. Fortunately, the courts have already been busy this year…
Practice Area: Litigation
Expulsion of Partners: Ontario Court of Appeal Confirms Good Faith Requirement
In Tim Ludwig Professional Corporation v. BDO Canada LLP, the Ontario Court of Appeal recently upheld a lower court decision which awarded an expelled partner in excess of $1.3 million in damages for lost profits and benefits, and aggravated damages (see our Case in Point, Expelling a Partner: An Expensive Cautionary Tale for Partnerships). In…
Fixed-Term Contract Termination Provision Violates ESA, Says Appeal Court
The Ontario Court of Appeal has again weighed in on the issue of termination provisions in employment contracts. By way of background, we recently reported on the February 2017 decision of the Court of Appeal in Wood v Fred Deeley Imports Ltd. In that case, the Court reversed a motion judge’s conclusion that a termination…
Appellate Court Finds Labour Arbitrator has Jurisdiction in EI Premium Reduction Case
In a recent decision, the Ontario Court of Appeal underscored the importance of judicial deference to the arbitration and grievance process…
Appellate Court Finds Termination Clause Unenforceable for Breach of ESA
The recent dismissal by the Supreme Court of Canada of an employee’s leave to appeal an appellate decision which upheld the enforceability of a minimum standards-only termination clause was good news for employers…
FTR Quarterly – Issue 4, Volume 1
This issue features articles on; Human Resources Trends and Issues to Watch in 2017, the Top 10 Developments in Human Resources Law in 2016 and the Featured Lawyer is Amy R. Tibble…
Default Judgment Giving Rise to New Tort of “Public Disclosure of Embarrassing Private Facts” Set Aside
Early in 2016, we reported on a case in which the Ontario Superior Court articulated a new private tort: “public disclosure of embarrassing private facts.” The plaintiff in that case had been coaxed by a former boyfriend (the defendant) to send him a sexually explicit video of herself. Despite promising the plaintiff confidentiality, the defendant…
Procedural Power of Courts Not Constrained by PIPEDA
In Royal Bank of Canada v. Trang, the Supreme Court of Canada held that the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) does not interfere with the procedural powers of a court. The decision arose out of a situation in which past judicial interpretation and application of PIPEDA had impeded the ability of the…
Appellate Court Clarifies Use of Subsequent Conduct Evidence in Resolving Ambiguous Contract
In an important decision regarding the law of contractual interpretation, Shewchuk v. Blackmont Capital Inc., the Ontario Court of Appeal considered when the subsequent conduct of parties can be considered in interpreting a contract made between those parties…
Appellate Court Refuses to Extend Time for Filing of Leave to Appeal: Case Lacked Merit
In Reid v College of Chiropractors of Ontario, the Ontario Court of Appeal recently reviewed the test for extending time to file leave to appeal. The Court dismissed the motion for an extension of time on the basis that the proposed appeal lacked merit. The decision provides a helpful summary of the test for extending…