The Art of Prepping Witnesses: Balancing Advocacy and Ethics

A contract is a legally binding agreement between two or more parties that outlines their respective rights and obligations. But what happens if one of the parties wants to get out of the contract? In some cases, a contract can be voided, which means that it is deemed to have never existed legally.

In the event of a motor vehicle accident, individuals who are insured may also have the option to file a companion lawsuit against the responsible driver. Both the tort case and the insurance claim can have a significant impact on each other, and it is important for counsel to understand the interplay between the two.

In the realm of law, promises play an essential role, particularly regarding the protection of reliance. This post will be about the protection of reasonable reliance on statements made by a party to a contract or a potential contract. In a contract, the preservation of one party’s reliance may be equally as significant as the protection of both parties’ reasonable expectations.

When a default occurs, the mortgagee, or lender, has the right to accelerate the mortgage payment or seek specific performance or damages. They can also sell the property to repay their debt. If the sale proceeds are less than the mortgage debt, the mortgagee can sue the borrower for the deficiency. If the sale results in a surplus, the mortgagee must pass it on to the next encumbrancer or the borrower.

Letters of credit (LC) and bank guarantees are financial tools used to secure payment obligations. However, they differ from regular guarantees in terms of the defences against payment demands. An LC is simply an agreement to pay under certain conditions, and the law governing LCs is determined by the national jurisdiction where the LC is issued.

In Ontario, a program, known as the Whistleblower Program, was made available for public comment in 2015 and includes a confidential submission process for individuals to provide information to the OSC. In contrast, whistle-blower protection laws in the United States have a long history dating back over 150 years.

As the world becomes more connected, it’s becoming more common for Canadians to spend extended periods of time outside of Canada. With careful planning, it’s possible for Canadians to cease being a resident for Canadian income tax purposes, without giving up their Canadian citizenship.

In Ontario, when someone is accused of making a defamatory statement, they may have eight different defences available to them.

Rule 21 of Ontario’s Rules of Civil Procedure is a mechanism for dealing with situations where a claim brought by a plaintiff is clearly of a kind for which no legal relief is available or where the defence submitted by the defendant is not valid. The rule allows for the determination of certain preliminary issues that may dispose of a legal proceeding without the need for a trial to avoid delays and ensure that issues are disposed of promptly and in accordance with the Rules.

In the case of Environmental Waterproofing Inc v. Huron Tract Holdings Inc., [2023] O.J. No. 157, the court was tasked with determining which creditor had priority over a garnishment of funds held by the Sheriff.

In Ontario, under the Ontario Business Corporations Act, directors of a corporation have a legal responsibility to ensure that the corporation is financially stable before making certain transactions. This includes the payment of dividends, redemption or reacquisition of shares, reduction of stated capital, or provision of financial assistance to certain non-arm’s length persons.

As a director or officer of a public corporation in Ontario, it’s crucial to be aware of the legal implications of your actions. The Criminal Code of Canada includes a number of provisions that pertain to fraud, and these can apply to those in leadership positions within a company.

In Ontario, the Occupiers’ Liability Amendment Act, 2020, often known as Bill 118, made substantial modifications to the filing process for personal injury claims caused by snow or ice on private property. The modifications to the Occupiers’ Liability Act imposed new notification requirements on claimants.

The question of how cryptocurrencies are classified under Canadian bankruptcy law has again been brought to the forefront with the collapse of Bahamas-based cryptocurrency exchange FTX . . . While there is broad acceptance that cryptocurrencies are likely assets, there is no widespread agreement on how to classify them – are they financial assets, intangible assets, inventory, investment property or something else?

When it comes to court-appointed receiverships, there can be much confusion surrounding the issue of rent obligations. Essentially, the main tension arises from the fact that existing legal principles don’t always align with what a receiver would like to do in practice.

[W]hat happens if you do not file the statement of claim (Form 14D) within thirty days after the notice of action is issued, and you cannot get the defendant’s written consent to file it? Failure to file the statement of claim within 30 days of the notice of action being filed does not render the action a nullity.

Effective January 1, 2023, Ontario corporations governed by the Business Corporations Act (Ontario) will be required to maintain a register of individuals with significant control. This change is the result of Bill 43, which the government of Ontario approved in 2021.

The Consumer Protection Act, 2002 (“CPA”) is a piece of legislation in Ontario that was put in place to safeguard customers’ interests in their interactions with various commercial enterprises. If a consumer’s rights are infringed upon, it details the legal recourses available to them as well as the rights and responsibilities of both businesses and customers.

There is a federal law in Canada called the Investment Canada Act, and it is used to govern the flow of foreign investment into the country. At the federal level, this legislation is the only one regulating foreign investment in the country.

The Supreme Court’s decision in Saadati fundamentally altered the way in which tort law responds to mental injury by attempting to align it more closely with the way it sponds to physical injuries. In this particular case, the Court upheld a trial judge’s award for Mr. Saadati’s mental injury, despite the absence of a diagnosis of a recognized psychiatric illness.