Honoraria have traditionally been available to representative plaintiffs in class actions in Ontario where the plaintiff has “gone well above and beyond the call of duty.”[1] In Smith Estate v National Money Mart Company,[2] the Ontario Court of Appeal upheld the motion judge’s decision to grant a $3,000 honorarium because the representative plaintiff’s contributions to … Continued
A legal proceeding intending to silence a group or individual who speaks out on matters of public interest is known as a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP). The purpose of a SLAPP is to silence critics with less financial resources by forcing them to spend time and money to defend baseless lawsuits.[1] Examples of SLAPPs … Continued
In late 2020 and early 2021, the Supreme Court of Canada revisited the duty of good faith in contract in two hotly anticipated decisions. In this paper, we will review these important decisions and how they have been interpreted by lower courts before identifying the key takeaways from these updates. Bhasin v Hrynew: introducing the organizing … Continued
Potpourri: an unusual or interesting mixture of things. – Cambridge Dictionary The last two years have certainly brought many new and interesting changes to the legal world, including some pertinent case law worth discussing. We have collected some compelling insurance cases covering a range of relevant topics. POLICY EXCLUSION CLAUSES Tataryn v. Axa Insurance Canada, 2021 … Continued
INTRODUCTION A ‘pure economic loss’ is a financial loss suffered by a person or corporation which is not accompanied by bodily injury or property damage. As a matter of common law, courts have historically limited recovery for pure economic losses to certain, defined, categories. The result was that smart plaintiff’s counsel would attempt to craft … Continued
Claims made against defendants who are also contractual parties may give rise to concurrent coverage issues. For example, a defendant party may be named as an additional insured to the policy of a tenant, landlord, business partner, service provider, etc., who is also a co-defendant, in addition to maintaining their own insurance. This creates the … Continued
It can be difficult for litigants and the Courts to figure out the complex relationship between the standard of care analysis and the nature of the injury or damage suffered by the plaintiff. There is no duty to “Be Perfect”: the standard of care analysis does not impose an absolute duty of perfection.[1] In cases of … Continued
Sections 3(1) and 4(1) of the Occupiers’ Liability Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. O.2 (“OLA”) import duties on occupiers to take some care to see that patrons are safe while on the premises. The duty is not absolute. In the case where s. 3(1) applies, the risk must be foreseeable by the “reasonable” system in place.[1] Under … Continued
