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Defendant’s third party claim against plaintiff’s lawyer in breach of contract case dismissed (CPCS Transcom Ltd. v. Lansdowne Office Inc.)
Friday, October 9, 2026Stephen A. ThieleLitigationCivil Procedure, Third party claims , Contribution and indemnity , No cause of action
Rule 29 of the Rules of Civil Procedure allows a defendant to commence a third party claim against any person who is not a party to the action in the circumstances set out under the rule, including where the third party is or may be liable to the defendant for all or part of the plaintiff’s claim...
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When are an expert witness’s exchanges with AI discoverable? (Villanueva v. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department)
Friday, October 9, 2026Stephen A. ThieleLitigationCivil Procedure, Discovery, Expert witness , Artificial Intelligence
The issue of the discoverability of an expert witness’s use of artificial intelligence during the preparation of an expert report is beginning to find its way to the courts...
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Ontario Court of Appeal Weighs In On Contracts of Adhesion, Jurisdiction, and Forum Selection Clauses
Thursday, October 1, 2026Tyler O’HenlyLitigationTransportation & Logistics
A recent Court of Appeal of Ontario decision, Next Pathway Inc. v. Informatica Inc., 2026 ONCA 657 (“Informatica”) reminds commercial parties not to overlook a species of generally “boilerplate” contract language: the jurisdiction and forum selection clause...
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The Court giveth and the Court (of Appeal) taketh away – The Court of Appeal Clarifies Role of Monthly Reporting of Fleet Schedules and the Operation of OPCF 21A
Thursday, October 1, 2026Conal CalvertLitigationTransportation & Logistics
In our 2025 Q3 Newsletter, I wrote about the Ontario Superior Court decision in West York Sales and Leasing Inc. v. The Dominion of Canada General Insurance Company, 2025 ONSC 3845, dealing with coverage under a fleet insurance policy which included a monthly schedule of vehicles provided by the insured...
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Bill C-8 Is Now Law: What Canada’s Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity Act Means for Transportation and Logistics Companies
Thursday, October 1, 2026Andrea FernandesLitigationTransportation & Logistics
On June 15, 2026, Bill C-8, formally titled An Act respecting cyber security, amending the Telecommunications Act and making consequential amendments to other Acts, received Royal Assent and became law...
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Preserving Evidence in Transportation Claims: Spoliation Risks in Canada and the United States
Thursday, October 1, 2026Mason KohnLitigationTransportation & Logistics
It had been approximately 130 years since the Supreme Court of Canada (the “SCC”) last substantively addressed the legal doctrine of spoliation in its major ruling, St. Louis v. The Queen, 1896 CanLII 65 (SCC), 25 SCR 649...
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Employment Law Update 2026: Key Developments for Employers
Thursday, October 1, 2026Saisha MahilLitigationTransportation & Logistics
Ontario employers continue to face a rapidly evolving employment law landscape. Recent appellate decisions have provided much needed guidance on termination clauses and equity compensation, while proposed federal legislation signals a significant shift in the treatment of non-compete agreements...
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Ontario Court of Appeal Holds Ransomware Endorsement Applies to All Losses
Thursday, October 1, 2026Rui FernandesLitigationTransportation & Logistics
In Panasonic Canada Inc. v. XL Specialty Insurance Company, 2026 ONCA 633 (September 9, 2026), the Ontario Court of Appeal reversed a lower court ruling and held that a ransomware sublimit endorsement, with its higher self-insured retention, applied to an insured’s cyber-incident claim, even though the insured had framed its claim exclusively under the base policy’s general coverage grants...
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When “Final” Means Final: The High Price of an Unappealable Error in Arbitration in a Road Reconstruction Contract
Thursday, October 1, 2026Rui FernandesLitigationTransportation & Logistics
The Ontario Superior Court of Justice has held that an arbitration agreement may prevent a party from appealing an arbitration award on a question of law, even when the arbitrator made a legal error. The decision highlights why arbitration agreements must address appeals clearly...
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Load Brokers’ Trust Obligation under the Ontario Highway Traffic Act in the Context of Priority Disputes under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act
Thursday, October 1, 2026Kim E. StollLitigationTransportation & Logistics
In our Transportation and Logistics 2025 Q4 newsletter, the first part of this two-part series examined the trust obligation in the context of directors’ and officers’ liability...
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Injunction restrains former employee’s campaign of online harassment (SGS Canada Inc v. Carrier)
Friday, September 25, 2026James R.G. CookLitigationInjunction, Harassment
While it is typically individuals who seek relief from defamatory and harassing conduct, corporations are equally entitled to pursue remedies to put a stop to such behaviour...
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Plaintiffs awarded a total of $800,000 in damages for defamation (Murdy v. Barrette)
Friday, September 18, 2026Stephen A. ThieleLitigationTorts, Defamation, Damages
In general, the range of damages for defamation is relatively modest...
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Expert reports generated by artificial intelligence are prone to being ignored (Shirran v. The Owners, Strata Plan KAS 4004; Laake v. 3M Company)
Friday, September 11, 2026Stephen A. ThieleLitigationEvidence , Expert Evidence , Artificial Intelligence
Expert reports are often invaluable in civil and criminal cases...
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Recent decisions illustrate the consequences of deficient or absent motion materials
Friday, August 28, 2026James R.G. Cook, Isabel YooLitigationRules of Civil Procedure, Substitute Decisions Act, Personal Property Security Act (PPSA)
In litigation, both the substance and the form of court materials matter. The Rules of Civil Procedure govern the conduct of civil claims in Ontario and set out, among other things, the...
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Lawyer obtains injunction to stop defamatory online harassment (Miller v. Ahn)
Friday, August 28, 2026James R.G. CookLitigationHarassment, Internet Harassment
In some cases, a plaintiff may need urgent relief to remove defamatory posts from the internet and social media before they irreparably harm their business or...
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40-year-old NOSI does not go to root of title (2225064 Ontario Ltd. v. 55 Bradwick Limited)
Thursday, August 27, 2026James R.G. CookLitigationGTA Real Estate, Homeowners Protection Act, Notice of Security Interest (NOSI), Personal Property Security Act (PPSA)
Until recently , a Notice of Security Interest (NOSI) could be registered on title to property in Ontario to give notice of a security interest in fixtures attached to land, such as...
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Family Expectations, Unjust Enrichment, and Beneficial Ownership: Lessons from the Family Farm
Monday, August 24, 2026James R.G. Cook, Isabel YooLitigationReal Estate, Real Property Limitations Act
Landowners may have their properties registered “in trust” to try and avoid certain legal consequences such as land merger or income tax. But does the registration of a property “in trust” reflect an intention of...
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Counsel's threat of civil proceedings results in mistrial of criminal conviction against Frank Stronach (R. v. Stronach No.5)
Thursday, August 20, 2026James R.G. CookLitigationMistrial, Threat of Civil Proceedings
After a trial in 2026, Frank Stronach was found guilty of two sexual offence charges for incidents that had occurred some 40 years earlier. Following the conviction, but before sentencing, one of the complainants had a civil lawyer write to Mr. Stronach’s criminal lawyer to threaten a civil claim for damages of almost $1 million..
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Litigant’s misuse of AI significantly contributes to dismissal of his unperfected appeal (Arbuckle v. Tanner)
Monday, August 17, 2026Stephen A. ThieleLitigationMisuse of AI, Dismissal
Courts often rely on the “interests of justice” to ensure that court procedures are strictly followed and that litigants do not abuse the process...
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No Charter right to bicycle lanes (Cycle Toronto v. Ontario (Attorney General))
Monday, August 17, 2026Stephen A. ThieleLitigationConstitutional Law , Charter, Life, liberty and security of the person
In previous court decisions, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice first refused to grant an injunction against the Ontario government’s removal of bicycle lanes on some major city roads in Toronto, then granted the injunction, and then later concluded that the government’s legislation to remove the bicycle lanes breached section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms...
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Behemoth B.C. Case Delivers a Blizzard of Professional Negligence Findings
Monday, August 17, 2026James R.G. Cook, Delila Bikic, Isabel YooLitigationBritish Columbia, Negligence, Breach of Contract
In Blizzard Uranium Corp. v Nathanson, Schachter & Thompson LLP, 2026 BCSC 466, the Supreme Court of British Columbia found a lawyer liable for negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, and breach of contract arising from a pleading error in a complex commercial litigation matter...
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Defendants succeed in getting security for costs despite plaintiffs’ action not being frivolous (Walker v. Smith)
Friday, August 14, 2026Stephen A. ThieleLitigationCivil Procedure, Costs, Security for Costs
Under rule 56 of the Rules of Civil Procedure, a defendant can seek an order for security of costs against a plaintiff in certain limited circumstances...
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Mortgages, Powers of Sale and Certificates of Pending Litigation
Thursday, August 13, 2026Daniel KuhnreichReal Estate, LitigationMortgage, Power of Sale
A Certificate of Pending Litigation (CPL) is a common remedy used by a party claiming an interest in real property. Once registered on title, a CPL puts prospective purchasers and other parties dealing with the property on notice that an interest in the property is being claimed adverse to the registered owner...
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Buyer’s alleged “Family and Friends Deal” with builder ordered for new trial (Curridor v. Millstone Homes Inc.)
Wednesday, August 12, 2026James R.G. CookLitigationBuyer, Owner, Property
Sometimes deals are too good to be true. In Curridor v. Millstone Homes Inc., 2026 ONCA 571, a buyer claimed that he was entitled to buy a newly built property in Komoka, Ontario from a builder for the cost of construction under a special “friends and family deal.”..
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Democracy organization wins right to judicially review ethics Commissioner report (Democracy Watch v. Canada (Attorney General))
Monday, August 10, 2026Stephen A. ThieleLitigationConstitutional Law , Superior courts , Judicial review, Rule of law
The rule of law underpins western democracies...
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Court of Appeal sets aside contempt of court finding against professional association (Association of Architectural Technologists of Ontario v. Ontario Association of Architects)
Friday, July 31, 2026Stephen A. ThieleLitigationCivil Procedure, Orders, Civil contempt
Court orders are meant to be followed; otherwise justice and rule of law will be undermined...
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Lawyer receives 6-month suspension for misuse of artificial intelligence (Law Society of Ontario v. Lee)
Friday, July 24, 2026Stephen A. ThieleLitigationProfessional occupations , Lawyers, Discipline, Penalty , Misuse of artificial intelligence
The misuse of artificial intelligence by litigants and lawyers continues to be alarming...
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Transfer by corporate property owner not a fraudulent instrument (2628793 Ontario Corporation v. Stolp)
Wednesday, July 22, 2026James R.G. CookLitigationProperty, Owner, Land Titles Act
Under the Ontario Land Titles Act (the “LTA”), a transfer of property may be removed from title if it is determined to be a “fraudulent instrument”...
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Lights, Camera Infractions: A Review of Ontario’s Automatic Enforcement System Offence Regime, the Risks to Commercial Vehicle Carriers and How Operators Can Protect Themselves
Thursday, July 2, 2026Carole McAfee Wallace, Tyler O’HenlyLitigationTransportation & Logistics
For commercial vehicle carriers in Canada and the USA, day-to-day operations are more challenging than ever...
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MASS Code Takes Effect July 1, 2026
Thursday, July 2, 2026Rui FernandesLitigationTransportation & Logistics
The International Maritime Organization (“IMO”) adopted a new International Code of Safety for Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (“MASS Code”) (MSC 111/5/3) in May 2026, marking a major regulatory milestone for autonomous shipping....
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