The Court of Appeal made new law in Drummond v. Cadillac-Fairview Corporation Limited[1]. The Court held that a motion for summary judgment should not be granted against a party who has had no notice that summary judgment was being sought against it. The Court found that the motion judge erred by failing to afford the defendant … Continued
Earlier this year, the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed the plaintiff’s application for leave to appeal the decision of the Court of Appeal in Kueber v. Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre[1] affirming the motion judge’s decision to grant partial summary judgment. The motion judge had dismissed the plaintiff’s action against 9 physicians, an ambulance service and … Continued
The decision in Edwards v. McCarthy, 2019 ONSC 3925 provides some guidance on how much information a party is required to disclose pertaining to retained experts, before the party has decided whether or not to call the expert as a witness at trial. In Edwards, the plaintiff brought an action against his former lawyer, alleging that his … Continued
The City of Barrie sought to have the plaintiff’s action dismissed by way of summary judgment motion on the grounds that the plaintiff had failed to provide notice of his claim to the Municipality within ten days of his accident, as required by Section 44.10 of the Municipal Act. The plaintiff was struck while riding his … Continued
Counsel in medical malpractice actions have traditionally matched experts closely to the defendant’s practice area when addressing standard of care issues. A community doctor’s actions, for instance, will be commented on by another community doctor. This convention may no longer be as important following the recent decision of Cheesman v. Credit Valley Hospital, 2019 ONCA 1907. … Continued
Arbitration agreements can be useful for commercial litigants seeking to resolve disputes faster and with heightened confidentiality as compared to court actions. In the context of standard agreements for consumer goods and services, arbitration clauses are sometimes used by companies seeking to limit their exposure to court actions brought by customers, in particular to avoid … Continued
In Imeson v. Maryvale (Maryvale Adolescent and Family Services), 2018 ONCA 888 (“Imeson”), the Court of Appeal emphasized the importance of the judicial gatekeeping role for expert witnesses, and clarified the boundaries of proffering “participant expert” evidence at trial. In a narrow exception to Rule 53.03 of the Rules of Civil Procedure, a fact witness with special expertise … Continued
On May 7, 2018, the Ontario Court of Appeal released Mohamed v. Information Systems Architects Inc., 2018 ONCA 428, a case that dealt with the circumstances of terminating a fixed-term contract, and whether a seemingly unfettered contractual right to do so is limited by any other factors. The plaintiff was retained by the defendant, ISA, to … Continued
