Blog
Blog
Defence of qualified privilege available to Township for posting letters from public
Monday, February 13, 2023James R.G. CookLitigationMunicipal Act, Courts of Justice Act, Planning Act
Municipal site plan applications have a public component that may expose an applicant to complaints from people who are opposed to their plans. As part of the...
Read the full post, click here.
Anti-SLAPP motion fails to stop Canadian Tire’s claim against alleged perpetrators of fraudulent after-sales service program
Friday, December 2, 2022James R.G. CookLitigationFraud, Courts of Justice Act, Anti-SLAPP
Motions under section 137.1 of the Ontario Courts of Justice Act (CJA) are typically brought to dismiss defamation claims involving expressions on matters of public interest. However, while the...
Read the full post, click here.
Home owner obtains certificate of pending litigation to stop power of sale
Friday, November 18, 2022James R.G. CookLitigationReal Estate, Courts of Justice Act
Parties who are seeking an interest in a property may seek to register a certificate of pending litigation (CPL) on title for the...
Read the full post, click here.
Anonymization and sealing requests in Ontario civil proceedings
Tuesday, November 1, 2022James R.G. CookLitigationRules of Civil Procedure, Real Estate, Courts of Justice Act
Closed proceedings, sealing orders and publication bans are rare in civil actions in Ontario. When a court decision in a civil proceeding is published it normally bears the names of the parties in the title of...
Read the full post, click here.
Pro-life group’s defamation claim against “online protestor” allowed to proceed
Monday, October 17, 2022Stephen A. ThieleLitigationSocial Media, Courts of Justice Act
Social media continues to be a fertile ground for the development of the law. Social media has become a tool for significant political debate and...
Read the full post, click here.
Lawyer’s defamation action allowed to proceed in Small Claims Court
Monday, August 29, 2022James R.G. CookLitigationSmall Claims Court, Courts of Justice Act
Ontario’s Small Claims Court is intended to provide litigants with a cost-effective forum for civil claims up to $35,000, including claims for defamation. Defamation claims in the...
Read the full post, click here.
Relief from forfeiture not granted where buyer claimed lack of capacity to enter into real estate purchase agreement
Friday, June 24, 2022James R.G. CookLitigationAgreement of Purchase and Sale, Real Estate, Courts of Justice Act
As real estate markets fall, buyers are sometimes left scrambling to find alternate sources of financing when the available mortgage funds turn out...
Read the full post, click here.
You Can’t Fight City Hall
Tuesday, April 19, 2022Stephen A. ThieleLitigationCourts of Justice Act
There is an old adage that “you can’t fight City Hall”. The phrase originated in the United States to encapsulate the idea that an ordinary person cannot overcome...
Read the full post, click here.
Defendants who denied making impugned defamatory expressions unable to utilize anti-SLAPP law
Wednesday, April 6, 2022Stephen A. ThieleLitigationAnti-SLAPP Legislation, Courts of Justice Act
Anti-SLAPP legislation in British Columbia and Ontario is producing interesting decisions and requiring courts to continue to consider the scope of the legislation. The Supreme Court of Canada...
Read the full post, click here.
Public protest against trucking company not a matter of public interest
Thursday, March 31, 2022Stephen A. ThieleLitigationCourts of Justice Act
Not all public protests are necessarily created equal. While most public protests will be viewed as having a public interest component, some might be viewed as either being...
Read the full post, click here.
Presumptive costs award under anti-SLAPP law granted against Maxime Bernier
Friday, March 18, 2022Stephen A. ThieleLitigationAnti-SLAPP Legislation, Courts of Justice Act
Defamation actions that involve matters of public interest can be risky because under section 137.1 of the Courts of Justice Act (“CJA”) a defendant can
Read the full post, click here.
Claim for defamatory tweets dismissed
Thursday, March 3, 2022James R.G. CookLitigationCourts of Justice Act, Twitter
Can one who freely wades into the choppy waters of Twitter complain about getting splashed? So asked the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in a recent case involving allegedly...
Read the full post, click here.
Plaintiffs ordered to pay costs of $164,186 after trying to bully defendants into removing negative online reviews
Thursday, October 7, 2021James R.G. CookLitigationRules of Civil Procedure, Anti-SLAPP Legislation, Online Review, Courts of Justice Act
Plaintiffs who commence a defamation action would be well-advised to consider the potential consequences of having the claim dismissed at an early stage...
Read the full post, click here.
Court of Appeal affirms judicial notice of anti-black racism in granting relief from forfeiture
Thursday, June 3, 2021James R.G. CookLitigationTenant, Landlord, Ontario Court of Appeal , Courts of Justice Act, Restaurant
In 8573123 Canada Inc. (Elias Restaurant) v. Keele Sheppard Plaza Inc., 2021 ONCA 371, the Ontario Court of Appeal affirmed an application judge’s decision which...
Read the full post, click here.
92-year old minority shareholder obtains oppression remedy
Thursday, May 27, 2021James R.G. CookLitigationShareholders’ Agreement, Courts of Justice Act, Ontario Business Corporations Act
In V.M. Koury Investments Ltd. v. Bolton Steel Tube Co. Ltd., 2021 ONSC 3408 (CanLII), the 92-year old applicant owned 30% of the shares...
Read the full post, click here.
Defamation action against Ontario Premier dismissed under Courts of Justice Act
Thursday, January 28, 2021Stephen A. Thiele, Gavin J. TigheLitigationPolice Services Act, Members’ Integrity Act, Courts of Justice Act, Political Law
Early last year, the Premier of Ontario, Doug Ford, in a highly sensationalized lawsuit was sued for defamation by a former Deputy Commissioner and...
Read the full post, click here.