February 29, 2008
In recent years there have been a number of developments in the law which have given rise to escalating damage awards. The focus on this paper is on the changes that have occurred with respect to: Future Care Costs, guardianship and management fees, and risk premiums.
January 31, 2008
Municipalities are responsible for keeping sidewalks clear of snow and ice and that means they may also be liable for any personal injury damages resulting from a slip and fall. But getting a handle on just what keeping sidewalks in a "reasonable state of repair" means can be as slippery as the footing underneath.
August 31, 2007
In today's ever increasing technological society, more so then ever companies and individuals are relying on electronic means to communicate, exchange and store documents and infomation. Whether it is via email or word processing, companies and individuals are moving away from hard copies and are depending increasingly on electronically stored information (ESI). More importantly and sometimes unbeknownst to the companies, individuals or their counsel, information and documentation are being stored indefinitely well beyond the previous retention of paper stored documents. ESI has created new challenges for the discovery process and implications for litigants.
July 31, 2007
Few manufacturers produce every part of their product. Almost all incorporate one or more components purchased from independent suppliers. Many "manufacturers" are, in truth, little more than assemblers of components that they themselves to not make. This raises the following issue: where there is no contractual relationship with the claimant and no actual or constructive knowledge of any defect on the part of the manufacturer, should the manufacturer be liable for injury arising from a defective component purchased fro a reputable supplier?
March 27, 2006
The automobile insurance legislation in Ontario has undergone numerous amendments over the past 15 years which began with the introduction of a partial no-fault system in 1990 that replaced a pure tort system. As a result, a person injured in a motor vehicle accident as two types of claims...
On a practical level, causation simply means that the current condition or circumstances would be different had an act or omission not occurred. The alteration in circumstances can be positive, negative, or just a maintenance of the status quo. The critical matter is that the situation would not be what it is had there been no act or omission; otherwise, the act or omission cannot be said to have had any effect on the current situation. The “but for” test is merely another way of expressing this concept of change or difference in the current situation that would not otherwise have been present.
July 31, 2005
Since the landmark decision in Menow v Honsberger, the potential liability of taverns and other commercial hosts for alcohol-related injuries has been well established. In the 30-plus years since that decision, however, social hosts have received a free pass in cases where their involvement in the intoxication which led to the injury has been real and significant. The purpose of this article is to suggest a new approach to the consideration of the liability of social hosts, one that promotes the policy considerations essential to this type of claim and, at the same time, accords with basic principles of law.
January 31, 2001
Canada followed with interest the dramatic aftermath to what may have been the closest presidential election in the history of its great neighbour to the south. While the constitutions and systems of government in the two nations are substantially different, democracy is the underlying foundation in both. The authors, who profess no expertise in American constitutional law, are therefore able to express opinions in this article that are founded on common basic principles of law and universally accepted tenets of fairness.
November 30, 1988
Those of us who practice involves personal-injury cliams have seen a large increase in "accident neurosis" claims in the past several years. These are claims in which the plaintiff's complaints are significantly more serious than the objective physiological injuries (if any) that occur. In many such claims, the complaints are so unusual as to warrant the description "bizarre".
