February 13, 2024
In Cox v. Miller (Cox), the British Columbia Court of Appeal (the "BCCA") upheld the trial judge's decision by affirming that irrespective of an individual's intent and permissible rules of a game, injuries as a result of reckless and dangerous acts during recreational sports are risks not undertaken by players and are thereby able to constitute liability in negligence.
April 01, 2022
In Actava TV Inc. v. Matvil Corp, released on February 19, 2021, the Ontario Court of Appeal clarified the law on letters of request for third-party production.
The crux of the dispute in this case centred around a 'letter of request'. A letter of request, sometimes called a letter rogatory, "is the medium whereby one country, [...] seeks foreign judicial assistance that allows for the taking of evidence for use in legal proceedings[.]" In this case, the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, issued a letter to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. At its core, the letter is merely a request, and as such, must be endorsed or made enforceable by the recipient jurisdiction.
February 11, 2022
There have been a number of motions to strike jury notices throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, many of which resulted in jury notices being struck.
However, in the recent decision in Corkett v. Ginn, 2021 ONSC 7434 (CanLII), the court dismissed a Plaintiff's motion to strike a jury notice in an action commenced in the Central East Region.
February 03, 2022
In order to protect limitation periods, especially in cases where liability is yet to be determined, there is an obligation on counsel to identify, name, and pursue all parties who may be liable to the plaintiff(s). However, as the discovery process begins, parties often become aware that they have added in a party that will bear no liability to the plaintiff(s). Often, parties are able to consent to a dismissal or discontinuance without costs; however, there are cases in which defendant(s) will not go out without costs. In these cases, parties can move for a ruling under Rule 23.05...
July 08, 2021
On June 28, 2021, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice led by Myers J., released a decision in Arksey v. Sky Zone Toronto, 2021 ONSC 4594.
Generally, this was a summary judgement based on the terms of a waiver and the release of liability by the plaintiff. Specifically, whether the plaintiff waived her right to sue arising from injury caused by the defendant's failure to supervise and follow its injury policies.
June 29, 2021
In 1985, Rule 49 of the Rules of Civil Procedure was introduced to encourage parties to make and accept reasonable offers to settle. This has had the effect of discouraging parties from delaying the judicial process and increasing costs unnecessarily. Rule 49 has had a considerable effect on litigants by virtue of the risk of a large costs award following trial.
To trigger the cost consequences under Rule 49, an offer must meet strict requirements:
December 03, 2020
This was updated in December 2020 after appeal.
This was a dispute between AIG Insurance Company of Canada and Lloyd's Underwriters in respect of the duty to defend a claim brought against the City of Markham.
The City rented a hockey rink to the Markham Waxers Hockey Club and associated entities. A young boy was injured while attending a game at the hockey rink. He sued the City, Hockey Canada and the Waxers for damages resulting from his injuries.
November 06, 2020
In McConnell v. Fraser, McCague Borlack LLP successfully opposed the Plaintiff's motion to amend his Statement of Claim to add a new cause of action outside the limitation period.
The issues before the Ontario Superior Court of Justice were as follows...
September 28, 2020
In Ontario, there is a well-established practice of asking jurors to provide reasons for their verdicts. The jury is not absolutely required to provide this information. There is a presumption of integrity regarding general verdicts; simply because the jury did not explain its verdict is not a ground for appeal.
The exception to this presumption arises in professional negligence cases...
September 26, 2020
In Ontario, s.4 of the Limitations Act, 2002, (“Act”) establishes a two-year limitation period for a claimant to commence an action, which begins to run once the claim is discovered. However, there exists an exception for those claimants that are “incapable” to commence the proceeding.
In this case study, a man suffering from mental illness and psychotic delusions, killed his son and later commenced an action against the drug company...
August 11, 2020
Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, courts in Ontario have been working to modify existing online infrastructures and acquire new technologies in order to meet the needs of Ontarians and to maintain the safety of those who work in the courts. In doing so, the Ministry of the Attorney General ("MAG") has recently expanded the Justice Services Online platform and procured "CaseLines" for the use of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.
August 10, 2020
The following are some updates around civil matters in the Superior Court of Justice in the Central East Region. Please note they are all subject to change.
You have just been sued for breach of contract by a former business partner.
As you skim through a legal document that sets out a laundry list of your alleged failures and faux pas, a few paragraphs jump out at you. Why does the document make reference to an argument over the design of your company's logo? And why is there commentary on the not-so-secret office romance between two of your employees? As far as you can tell, neither of these issues have anything to do with the contract in dispute.
April 29, 2020
Following up our recent article on Business Interruption amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the March 30, 2020, Ontario Superior Court decision MDS Inc. v. Factory Mutual Insurance Company continues to remind us that the old adage, ‘you get what you pay for' rings loud and true...
February 28, 2019
Note: This paper has been updated from a prior version published in May 2018 to reflect recent developments in the legislation and potential regulations
Overall, Rowan's Law is intended to serve as “broad framework legislation” for concussion management and prevention in amateur competitive sport. The legislation will apply to any “sport organization”, defined as “a person or entity that carries out, for profit or otherwise, a prescribed activity in connection with an amateur competitive sport.”18 A “sport organization”, which may be further defined by regulation, will be required to:
