October 12, 2016
In Lloyd v. Imperial Parking Ltd, the Court held that "[a] fundamental implied term of any employment relationship is that the employer will treat the employee with civility, decency, respect and dignity."1 The exact standard that the employer must adhere to depends on the particular work environment. If that standard is breached, the employee can make a claim for damages.
October 11, 2016
The notice period for terminating an employee may be dictated by contract, statute, or common law.
October 11, 2016
Just as Confucius guided us so many centuries ago, similarly, in order to understand the concept of causation in accident benefits context, we must look to the past...
Although tort law clearly limited the use of the "material contribution" test, the accident benefits jurisprudence continued to use it in many instances as the appropriate test for causation.
Local Decisions on Costs
The litigation stemmed from a motor vehicle accident that occurred on December 5, 2009. The plaintiff, Sara Corbett, was a homemaker with two young sons. Her motor vehicle was hit by an oncoming vehicle while she was stopped and preparing to turn into a driveway. The vehicle's air bags did not deploy. Ms. Corbett declined to go to the hospital when the ambulance arrived.
As a result of the accident, Ms. Corbett developed whiplash type symptoms, which evolved into chronic pain syndrome. During trial, Ms. Corbett's evidence was that her chronic pain led to the breakup of her marriage. The jury awarded the plaintiff and her family a total of...
This case involved an action for damages arising from a motor vehicle accident. The Jury divided liability in the proportion of 62/38 between the Plaintiffs and the Defendants. The Plaintiff, Barbara Carroll, was awarded ...
During the course of the trial, the Defendants were taken by surprise on several occasions.
October 07, 2016
Some subrogation opportunities are not obvious and will require investigation and creative thinking. This article will go over when an insurer can pursue subrogation, what claims are suitable for subrogation? Establishing liability, causation, and damages. And will provide early investigation steps.
October 07, 2016
This article will give a breakdown on the subject of employee termination / dismissal. Along with definitions on just cause, tests for just cause. Detailing dismissal without cause, mitigation, notice requirement, constructive dismissal, workplace harassment, with a discussion on toxic work environments.
October 06, 2016
On April 30, 2016, an expert review of Ontario's Construction Lien Act was submitted to the Ministry of the Attorney General and the Ministry of Economic Development, Employment, and Infrastructure. This review, which was just released to the public, contains recommendations which will be considered in drafting legislation to be presented in Spring 2017. If the recommendations are implemented, even in part, it would form a sea of change in construction law and the most significant reform to this area of law in 33 years.
While the review recommends a reform to virtually every aspect of the Construction Lien Act, some of the most remarkable recommendations are as follows:
In Ledcor Construction Ltd. v. Northbridge Indemnity Insurance Co., 2016 SCC 37 (“Ledcor”), the Supreme Court of Canada clarified the construction of ‘faulty workmanship' exclusions in all-risk policies and the level of deference an appeal court must give regarding a lower court's interpretation of a contract.
The decision in Ledcor may be praised for providing greater clarity to insurers and insureds, but may also be an unwelcome development to those who embraced the Supreme Court's 2014 decision in Sattva Capital Corp. v. Creston Moly Corp. (“Sattva”) as a bar to extensive litigation over contractual interpretation.
Spoliation occurs where a party has intentionally destroyed evidence relevant to current or contemplated litigation and a reasonable inference can be drawn that the evidence was destroyed in order to affect the litigation. All types of evidence can be subject to spoliation and spoliation can occur in various ways. For example,
Directors and officers, acting as a manager of a corporation, have a number of duties and responsibilities that they are required to carry out. These duties are largely set in place to protect the interests of shareholders and other individuals who are not shareholders but nevertheless have a stake in the corporation, such as creditors.1 While most of these duties were established at common law, the majority of Canadian jurisdictions have codified them.2 Often times, if these duties are not met, directors and officers will be personally liable. A finding of liability will often result in remuneration to the corporation.
The following paper will outline the main duties that directors and officers have. Further, the following article will examine the liability that will ensue for the breach of such duties.
October 05, 2016
Whether or not expressly mentioned in the employment contract, all employees (and employers) have the following fundamental obligations.
October 03, 2016
Employment Law articles handled in 6 parts: Terminology, Obligations, Termination, Notice, Torts, Human Rights. Part 1 - Terminology, for example Contract, indefinite vs. fixed vs. Independent. Contract OF Services vs. Contract FOR Services, etc.
October 03, 2016
As a means of attracting and retaining qualified directors and officers, corporations have chosen to shield their directors and officers from personal liability. The Supreme Court of Canada has recognized that protection from liability is necessary to promote entrepreneurialism.
Mitigation is a common law doctrine based on fairness and common sense. As a general rule, a plaintiff will not be able to recover losses that could have been reasonably avoided.
While a plaintiff bears the burden of proving the fact that he has suffered a loss and the quantum of that damage, the defendant bears the onus of proving, on a balance of probabilities, that...
