Most people likely understand the risks of trying to rely on an oral agreement to vary the terms of a commercial lease. Nonetheless, parties often get into disputes over whether there was an oral agreement that varied the...more
The Ontario Court of Appeal (the “Court”) recently released three decisions in class actions about expanding on the tort of intrusion upon seclusion. The Court limited the tort’s application, particularly concerning parties...more
In Blair v. Ford, 2021 ONCA 841, Brad Blair (“Blair”) appealed the decision of Justice Belobaba to dismiss Blair’s action against Premier Doug Ford (“Ford”) on the basis that it was a strategic lawsuit against public...more
A. Introduction - In Paramount Fine Foods v Johnston, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (the “Court”) sentenced the defendant, Kevin J. Johnston (“Johnston”), to 18 months in prison for six acts of contempt arising from...more
The date a limitation period begins depends on when the claim was discovered. The recent decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal in Kaynes v. BP, PLC clarifies the law of discoverability under the Limitations Act, 2002, S.O....more
Preservation of property during litigation is dealt with under rule 45 of the Ontario Rules of Civil Procedure. The traditional test under rule 45 was designed for situations where the thing being preserved was the subject of...more
Background - Six years ago, in Bhasin v. Hrynew (“Bhasin”), the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) recognized a contractual duty of honest performance.[1] On December 18, 2020, the SCC released its decision in CM Callow Inc. v....more
The Ontario Court of Appeal recently upheld a gift made to beneficiaries under a will, despite the assets being owned by a corporation, and not the deceased himself. This is an important decision that will affect estate...more
On June 26, 2020, the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) released its decision in Uber Technologies Inc. v. Heller. The SCC held that the arbitration agreement between Uber and one of its drivers was invalid. This is another...more
Since the Ontario Court of Appeal’s decision in Jones v Tsige, creating an Ontario version of the tort of invasion of privacy called “intrusion upon seclusion”, privacy-related class actions have emerged as a growth area....more