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Blog
Claim struck against individual employee of corporate defendant (Soneri Invest v. Shell Canada)
Friday, March 14, 2025James R.G. CookLitigationClaim, Rules of Civil Procedure
In some claims against corporate defendants, plaintiffs may also seek to include individual representatives or employees as defendants...
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Court dismisses solicitor’s negligence claim for plaintiff’s failure to serve claim for nearly 7 years (Cayer v. Arseneau)
Tuesday, October 29, 2024Lauren Rakowski, Isabel Yoo, Abigail KorbinLitigationRules of Civil Procedure, Delay
Issuing a Statement of Claim is the first step for a plaintiff to bring a legal claim. It is not the only step. Once issued, a plaintiff must...
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Court rejects application record and affidavit sworn by associate for failing to comply with the Rules of Civil Procedure (Sabbagh v. Waterford Grand Retirement Residence)
Friday, June 28, 2024Isabel YooLitigationRules of Civil Procedure
When preparing documents for court, the form, not only the substance, of the materials filed matters greatly. Failure to abide by the Rules of Civil Procedure, which...
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Former law firm associate’s claim struck against individual firm lawyers (Brown v. WeirFoulds LLP)
Wednesday, June 19, 2024James R.G. CookLitigationRules of Civil Procedure
In general, individual employees of a corporate defendant are not personally liable for claims involving duties owed by their employer to its customers. The same principle applies to individual members of partnerships which can be...
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Can an undischarged bankrupt start a lawsuit without notifying his trustee in bankruptcy? (Little v. Bramcan Investments Ltd.)
Friday, March 22, 2024Stephen A. ThieleLitigationTransportation & Logistics, Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, Insolvency, Rules of Civil Procedure
Can an undischarged bankrupt bring a lawsuit in his own name without notifying his trustee in bankruptcy? In Little v. Bramcan Investments Ltd, 2024 ONSC 1485 (CanLII), the Ontario...
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Court orders defendant to pay costs of $300,000 for refusing to settle claim (Barry v Anantharajah)
Wednesday, March 6, 2024James R.G. CookLitigationRules of Civil Procedure, Motor vehicles
In Ontario, the Superior Court of Justice has broad discretion when it comes to awarding costs following a...
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Court critical of mortgage lender and Director of Titles for failing to consent to removal of fraudulent mortgage instrument from title (Sun v. Ryan Mortgage Income Fund Inc.)
Thursday, February 29, 2024James R.G. CookLitigationGTA Real Estate, Title Insurance, Mortgage, Rules of Civil Procedure, Land Title Act
In a decision which removed a fraudulent mortgage instrument from title to the applicants’ property, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice was...
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Court declines to order production of years of text messages between plaintiff and late spouse (Howell, McDonnell v. Freire, Aviva Insurance, Echelon Insurance)
Thursday, February 1, 2024Isabel YooLitigationCivil Procedure, Rules of Civil Procedure, Discovery
In Howell, McDonnell v. Freire, Aviva Insurance, Echelon Insurance, 2024 ONSC 586, the...
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Real estate agent sued for misrepresenting identity of buyer
Monday, February 27, 2023James R.G. CookLitigationRules of Civil Procedure, Real Estate
In Ker v. Deol, 2023 ONSC 1167 (CanLII), a motion judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice considered whether the buyer’s real estate agent could be added as a defendant in a lawsuit brought...
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Interlocutory injunction denied for failure to provide undertaking in damages
Friday, December 9, 2022Stephen A. Thiele, Alexander Melfi, Rob WintersteinLitigationRules of Civil Procedure
An interlocutory injunction is a powerful and drastic remedy which Courts have said should only be granted sparingly. In that regard,...
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Amendments to professional negligence claim denied following tardy expert report
Monday, November 21, 2022James R.G. CookLitigationRules of Civil Procedure, Negligence
Pleadings frame an action and determine the evidence that will be called at trial. The rules of pleadings generally require that...
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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...
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Conspiracy claim against lawyers dismissed
Wednesday, August 3, 2022Stephen A. Thiele, James R.G. Cook, Dara HirbodLitigationRules of Civil Procedure, Fraudulent Conveyances Act
Conspiracy is a complicated tort. In order to succeed in such a claim, a plaintiff is required to establish various elements. Where those elements do not exist, a defendant can bring...
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Lawyer not vicariously liable to opposite party in failed real estate transaction
Thursday, June 23, 2022Stephen A. Thiele, James R.G. Cook, Daria RisteskaLitigationRules of Civil Procedure, Agreement of Purchase and Sale, Real Estate
There appears to be a growing propensity on the part of litigants to sue the opposite party’s lawyer when a transaction fails or something else...
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Golf game survives homeowners’ request for mandatory interlocutory injunction
Friday, March 25, 2022Stephen A. ThieleLitigationRules of Civil Procedure, Interlocutory Injunction
Owning a home neighbouring a golf course is a desirable thing. A golf course provides significant green space in a neighbourhood, and, among other things, provides an adjacent homeowner with ...
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Courts rejects corporation’s motion to be represented by a consultant
Monday, February 7, 2022Stephen A. Thiele, James R.G. CookLitigationRules of Civil Procedure
Our justice system is designed to work efficiently and to adhere to the highest principles of integrity. In general, parties appearing before a court must...
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Lawyer not added as a defendant to counterclaim in real estate dispute
Tuesday, November 2, 2021Stephen A. Thiele, James R.G. CookLitigationRules of Civil Procedure, Real Estate
In general, rules governing the amendment of pleadings in a civil action are generous. Courts are mandated to allow amendments. However in circumstances where an...
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Ontario Court of Appeal upholds setting aside of a notice of discontinuance
Monday, November 1, 2021Stephen A. Thiele, Anna Husa, Gavin J. Tighe, K.C.LitigationRules of Civil Procedure, Real Estate
On August 3, 2020, lawyers at Gardiner Roberts LLP were successful in getting a notice of discontinuance set aside for their real estate brokerage...
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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 Reviews, 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...
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Late document disclosure may cause trial delays, adjournments, and dismissals
Tuesday, June 15, 2021James R.G. CookLitigationRules of Civil Procedure, Ontario Evidence Act
Late document disclosure may cause trial delays, adjournments, and dismissals
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A Judge’s Duty is to Judge
Monday, June 7, 2021Stephen A. ThieleLitigationLegal Research , Rules of Civil Procedure
A judge plays many roles, but one of the most important is to render a decision between conflicting parties. In rendering a decision, a judge must...
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Letters of Request enforced in connection with U.S commercial litigation
Friday, May 28, 2021James R.G. CookLitigationLetters of Request, Rules of Civil Procedure, Ontario Evidence Act
Recent decisions involving the enforcement of letters of request issued by U.S. courts reflect the continued openness of Ontario courts to...
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The judicial rant heard around the legal profession: a legal research lesson
Saturday, February 27, 2021Stephen A. ThieleLitigationCivil Procedure, Legal Research , Transfer Motion, Rules of Civil Procedure
As we approach the one year anniversary of Ontario’s declaration of a state of emergency because of Covid-19 pandemic, the stresses and strains caused by the lockdown can be seen and...
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Proposed Danforth Shooting class action against Smith & Wesson relating to authorized user technology allowed to proceed
Tuesday, February 16, 2021James R.G. CookLitigationRules of Civil Procedure, Class Proceedings Act, 1992, Handgun
The Ontario Superior Court of Justice has dismissed a motion by Smith & Wesson Corp to throw out a potential class action for negligent manufacturing of the firearm used in a mass shooting in...
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Notoriously Bad Movie leads to Unprecedented Order for Security for Costs of Trial Judgment
Monday, January 18, 2021James R.G. CookLitigationCopyright, Ontario Court of Appeal, Rules of Civil Procedure, Copyright Act, Documentary Film-makers
For perhaps the first time, the Ontario Court of Appeal has ordered an unsuccessful litigant to post security for costs of a trial judgment before being allowed to proceed with...
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The Supreme Court of Canada Strengthens the Judgment Creditor Tool Box
Wednesday, May 24, 2017Scott GfellerLitigation, Privacy LawSupreme Court of Canada, Rules of Civil Procedure
Collecting can be a pain. Getting a judgment is one thing but getting paid is a different ball game entirely, particularly when...
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Ineffective Assistance of Counsel in the Civil Context: The case of SMTCL Canada Inc. v. Master Tech Inc., 2017 ONCA 291
Tuesday, May 9, 2017Chris JuniorLitigation, Civil LawSummary Judgment, Rules of Civil Procedure
Wajeb Assaf, former lawyer for the defendant, represented Master Tech in the unsuccessful defence of a summary judgement motion which...
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Summary judgment motion in actions for wrongful dismissal started under the Simplified Procedure rule: A new way forward
Wednesday, February 22, 2017Dara Hirbod, Kevin W. FisherLitigationSummary Judgment, Rules of Civil Procedure, Wrongful Dismissal
Following a long line of cases, it has become standard practice in wrongful dismissal actions, even where the potential damages may exceed the prescribed monetary limit, to commence a claim under the...
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