October 15, 2020
In the recent reconsideration decision of 2020 ONLAT 19-006032/AABS, McCague Borlack LLP was successful in having the applicant’s request for reconsideration dismissed. Vice Chair Farlam considered the request for a reconsideration of her Decision released on May 14, 2020 ("Decision") in “which the applicant was barred from proceeding with her application to determine her entitlement to non-earner benefits ("NEBs") because she failed to attend the respondent’s s. 44 independent examination ("IE")”.
October 14, 2020
Many Canadians felt panic over the last month as the expiry date for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (“CERB”) loomed. As of October 3, 2020, Canadian workers who were relying on the CERB for financial support saw this benefit come to an end.
However, in response to this looming expiry date, the House of Commons sprung in to action on September 29, 2020 to unanimously pass Bill C-4: An Act relating to certain measures in response to COVID-19.
Bill C-4 was also quickly passed by the Senate, and it received Royal Assent on October 2, 2020.
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...
September 18, 2020
When it comes to claims for wrongful dismissal, without cause termination provisions have received almost all of the attention in recent years.
However, in the wake of a recent landmark decision by the Court of Appeal for Ontario (“ONCA”), employers should now be turning their attention to the other portions of the termination provisions in their non-unionized employees’ contracts.
September 15, 2020
Access to well-functioning justice and court systems are fundamental to a just and fair Canadian society. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has created challenges that have impacted the Canadian justice system.
Recently, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice has struck civil juries in two personal injury actions...
September 01, 2020
In TD Insurance and Intact Insurance, McCague Borlack LLP successfully argued that Intact Insurance, not TD insurance, had priority to pay statutory accident benefits to a claimant for personal injuries sustained in an October 30, 2017, motor vehicle accident.
The question before Arbitrator Bialkowski was whom a 17-year-old claimant was principally financially dependent on – the claimant's father (Intact) or the claimant's stepmother (TD). To complicate matters, the claimant was a passenger in the vehicle owned by her stepmother and had recently moved from her biological mother's home to reside with her father and stepmother at the time of the accident.
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.
July 03, 2020
In an earlier paper, the author commented on the interpretation and (non-) application of a corrosion exclusion in the decision in MDS Inc. v Factory Mutual Insurance Company. He turns now to a consideration of that exception to the exclusion.
June 24, 2020
The interpretation of a corrosion exclusion was one of the major issues considered in the recent decision in MDS Inc. v Factory Mutual Insurance Company. For reasons outlined below, I believe the interpretation and determination regarding its applicability in the circumstances of the case were incorrect.
Subrogation is the process whereby an insurer, after indemnifying its insured, assumes its insured's right to recover damages as against a tortfeaser who is liable for causing the damages. Since the insurer's right to subrogate is derivative, the insurer is subject to the same limitations that the insured would be when seeking recovery from third parties.
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.
May 23, 2020
This appeal concerns the tendering process used by Alberta Environment and Parks to solicit bids for a contract for the operation, monitoring and servicing of water and wastewater services in the Kananaskis Region.
This case highlights three important factors to consider during the tendering process...
May 21, 2020
The issue in this case was whether the plaintiffs ought to be required to conduct an examination out-of-court by videoconference, rather than in- person at a later date, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The plaintiffs sued the defendants for negligently causing them to unjustly be found liable for securities fraud by the Ontario Securities Commission, among other causes of action.
