In an important decision released June 2, 2017, the Court of Appeal of Ontario considered the novel issue of whether a taxi company is liable for a sexual assault allegedly committed by one of its drivers, absent any fault on its part.
A unanimous Court of Appeal ruled that the taxi company was not vicariously liable, suggesting that not all employers are vicariously liable for the intentional acts of their employees, even when their clientele may find themselves in the most vulnerable of situations.
Effective July 1, 2017, the definition of a Road-Building Machine (RBM) will be narrowed, pursuant to Ontario Regulation 398/16. Accordingly, certain vehicles will no longer be considered road-building machines, but instead will be deemed Commercial Motor Vehicles (CMVs).
This paper provides the impact and Implications for Insurers...
Amongst the most challenging personal injury cases to defend are those where a Plaintiff's accident-related injuries are solely psychological in nature. As there is no objective evidence for defence lawyers to look to when attempting to verify or challenge a Plaintiff's account of their injuries or impairments caused by an accident, Defendants have no choice but to rely on the expertise of experts when attempting to determine the severity of a Plaintiff's psychological and emotional injuries and impairments.
The Supreme Court of Canada has released a decision that makes this determination that much more challenging for defence lawyers by finding that expert evidence of a recognized psychiatric or psychological illness is not required for a plaintiff to recover damages for mental injuries.
As of May 1, 2017, the practice direction regarding the timing of mandatory mediations in Toronto has changed.
Mandatory mediations must now be completed prior to an action being set down for trial unless a judge or case management master orders otherwise. This is a significant change from the past practice direction that only required mandatory mediations to be scheduled before the action could be set down for trial. This change applies to all Toronto files that have not yet been set down for trial.
We anticipate that this change to the practice direction will lead to earlier mediations on Toronto matters. We are already starting to see the impact of this change, in terms of plaintiffs' counsel reaching out earlier than ever to schedule mediations, some even seeking to schedule same at the same time as scheduling discoveries.
It is hoped that the recent appeal decision in MVACF and Barnes will shed some light on this turbulent, but interesting, area of accident benefits.
The issue, in this case, was whether the amendment applied to the Applicant for services provided after its effective date.
Airlines have faced increased legal, public relations and operational challenges ever since Dr. David Dao’s forcible removal from his United Airlines flight on April 9, 2017. These challenges can lead to a perfect storm in which airlines may find themselves exposed to significant claims for damages.
This paper will briefly discuss the extent to which airlines may be exposed to liability for domestic and international travel.
* Addendum added May 23, 2017
A recent decision emerging from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice will likely have a significant impact on the viability of waivers in the defence of personal injury actions in Ontario.
Although the ruling in Schnarr v Blue Mountain Resorts is under appeal, the effect of the decision in Schnarr on the enforceability of waivers in Ontario is profound.
In Canada, resident sellers of a principal residence are usually eligible for an exemption from the capital gains tax that would otherwise be triggered by the sale of a principal residence. On the other hand, non-resident sellers must pay a capital gains tax of 25% on the profits from the sale of a residential property.
In Mao v Liu (2017 BCSC 226), the Court was asked to determine whether a notary public was negligent and therefore obligated to pay the capital gains tax triggered by the sale of a residential property...
April 03, 2017
Mediation is an increasingly common form of dispute resolution and one which provides many benefits to any party who would otherwise engage in litigation. However, there are several benefits and concerns which are unique to municipalities named as defendants in motor vehicle accident claims...
March 31, 2017
On Monday, March 28, 2017, the Ontario Court of Appeal released their decision, Lloyd v. Bush, 2017 ONCA 252. This case was an appeal by the County of Lennox and Addington (the "County") and the Corporation of the Town of Greater Napanee ("the Town") from a trial level decision that found the respective municipalities liable for damages arising out of a motor vehicle accident.
As the access to and use of marijuana becomes increasingly legitimate and common, it is reasonable to assume that the businesses that operate within this environment will experience significant legal "growing pains". Specifically, the operational risks that companies within the marijuana space face are significant given the limited involvement of regulators, and the attributes commonly associated with consumption. As a result, it is not surprising to see the start of what we believe to be a significant volume of litigation targeting many of the largest players in the industry.
February 24, 2017
The Landlord in Amexon wished to demolish a large commercial building in which the Tenant occupied leased premises, and redevelop the property. The Tenant refused to vacate, despite offers for compensation from the Landlord. The Landlord issued a notice to vacate and the Tenant sought and obtained an injunction...
February 24, 2017
The Landlord in Amexon wished to demolish a large commercial building in which the Tenant occupied leased premises, and redevelop the property. The premises constituted approximately 3% of the rentable area of the building. All of the other tenants had left as a result of agreements made with the Landlord, which offered to relocate the Tenant into similar premises in an adjoining building, and to pay compensation. After some bargaining, the Tenant refused to move...
With the legalization of marijuana appearing more like a certainty than a possibility, legislators ought to be determining how best to address the increased societal risks associated with drug-impaired driving.
Currently, the Government has authorized a 12-part evaluation for drug impairment of motorists.
Earlier today, the Supreme Court of Canada released a decision in R v. Bingley that provided guidance to lower courts on how evidence of drug-impaired driving is to be admitted...
February 17, 2017
Several ground-breaking cases, especially in the US, several years ago made mould claims a prominent issue within the insurance industry. One reaction is that many policies now have exclusions specifically relating to mould. However, the application of this common policy exclusion is rarely clear-cut. In fact, an overview of some of the key decisions demonstrates the complexity when this exclusion is applied to actual claims.
