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
Overview The Ontario Court of Appeal granted an appeal and dismissed a class action against an auditor. In doing so, the Court applied the updated test recently established by the Supreme Court to determine whether a duty of care arises between a negligent party and the party claiming damages. The Court also determined that a … Continued
The Ontario Court of Appeal recently upheld the dismissal of a professional negligence claim at the pleadings stage of an action. Our firm represented the successful defendant who had been sued for negligent misrepresentation in connection with a real estate appraisal report. The dismissal occurred largely because of the disclaimers in the appraisal report. This … Continued
On May 28, 2018, the Court of Appeal provided some clarification as to the extent that a municipality can be held liable for personal injuries during festivities that it hosts. Background In Martin v. Barrie (City), 2018 ONCA 499, the Court of Appeal reviewed a trial decision that found a municipality had satisfied the standard of care … Continued
In a recent case of the Superior Court of Justice, Stewart v. The Corporation of the Township of Douro-Dummer, 2018, ONSC 4009, Justice Ricchetti grappled with the issue of what duty of care a taxi driver owes to an intoxicated passenger. The Court concluded that there is no positive duty of care on a taxi driver … Continued
The case of Rankin (Rankin’s Garage & Sales) v. J.J., 2018 SCC 19, reminds us that judges can and do disagree about how to interpret and apply legal principles – even legal principles which have been well-established for many years. In Rankin, the Supreme Court of Canada considered whether the owner of a garage owes a duty … Continued
On August 30, 2018, the Ontario Court of Appeal released its decision in 1704604 Ontario Ltd. v. Pointes Protection Association, 2018 ONCA 0685, the first appellate-level decision to consider the effect of the additions of sections 137.1 – 137.5 to the Courts of Justice Act (“CJA”) spurred by the Protection of Public Participation Act (“PPPA”) enacted in 2015. Concurrently with … Continued
Insurance law’s treatment of innocent co-insureds has troubled courts for some time. Up until this year, an insurer in Ontario, and many other Canadian provinces and territories, could deny a claim for recovery by an innocent insured if the loss was caused by an intentional or criminal act of a person who was also insured … Continued
