25 April 2019
By Eden KaillI was at a workplace-tech conference a couple of months ago, and I heard a presentation on open-concept modular office layouts, where workers don’t have their own designated work area but instead move freely between desks, thereby freeing up unused offices and allowing companies to make more efficient use of space.
The presenter was animated and enthusiastic, but I was highly skeptical to say the least.
13 March 2019
By Brendan MonahanIn a pair of recent decisions, the Ontario Court of Appeal provided further guidance on the correct approach to the “valid defence” analysis under the anti-SLAPP provisions of section 137.1 of the Courts of Justice Act (the “CJA”).
8 March 2019
By Uri SnirAccording to a recent decision of the Supreme Court of Canada, lawyers can be held liable for referring clients to another professional who subsequently turns out to be a fraudster, especially where the actions of the lawyer go beyond a mere referral. In this case, the lawyer in question not only referred clients to his financial advisor, he also recommended and endorsed the advisor’s investments over several years.
25 February 2019
By Michael BookmanWhen should a successor company be forced to pay an advance on legal fees to predecessor shareholders whom the successor company is suing? The recent motion decision in Noranco v MidOcean Partners III1 might give pause to successor companies considering legal action against the selling shareholders who may be indemnified, under certain circumstances.
6 February 2019
By Cynthia SpryThe Globe and Mail has suggested that the fall of the Fortress group of companies “could become Canada’s largest syndicated mortgage failure”, as “[b]etween 2008 and 2017, Fortress … raised a staggering $920 million from 14,000 retail investors to fund mortgages for an array of developments.”
7 January 2019
By Uri SnirIn a recent decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal, the Court found that a motion judge erred in awarding partial summary judgment and dismissing a professional negligence claim against a law firm.
20 December 2018
By Brendan MonahanWhen will a court lift the automatic stay imposed under the Rules of Civil Procedure when a final or interlocutory order for the payment of money is appealed? The Ontario Court of Appeal recently considered this question in Popa v. Popa, 2018 ONCA 972. In this case, the Court granted an order lifting the stay, finding that the responding parties were “utterly untrustworthy” and that there was a serious risk that funds would be siphoned off if the stay was not lifted.
4 December 2018
By Eden KaillEvery law firm’s Twitter account, Babin Bessner Spry included, has a standard list of follows: Colleagues, other firms, bar associations, other legal associations like TLA and the Advocates“ Society.
These are often informative, but not always the most entertaining. Thank goodness for my favourite sub-category of Law Twitter:
Hilarious Law Twitter!
26 November 2018
By Uri SnirThe Ontario Court of Appeal has further clarified the distinction between litigation expert witnesses and participant expert witnesses. The distinction is crucial in determining what type of evidence is admissible at trial.
In this recent decision, the Court held that much of the expert evidence given at trial should have been inadmissible. It allowed the appeal and ordered a new trial in the underlying sexual assault action.
12 November 2018
By Michael BookmanCanada is one of the only industrialized countries in the world to lack a national securities regulator. That may be about to change after the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) concluded in Reference re Pan Canadian Securities Regulation that a proposed national cooperative for the regulation of the capital markets was indeed constitutional. The SCC has given the green light to a cooperative capital markets regulatory system fashioned collectively among some of the provinces and territories and the federal government.