Human Rights Tribunals: wider employment jurisdiction w/o clear limits
The complainant and Mr. Schrenk were working on a construction project for different employers. The complainant alleged that Mr. Schrenk made three derogatory statements relating to the complainant while on the worksite, and later sent offensive emails for which he was terminated. The question before the Supreme Court of Canada was a jurisdictional one: did […]
Unjust Enrichment
Unjust enrichment is a doctrine for the compensation of one who has unjustly received a benefit from another in a manner that the law will correct. It is a principle of “equity”. Thomson-Carswell’s Dictionary of Canadian Law (3d ed) neatly summarizes the doctrine: “ An action for unjust enrichment arises when three elements are satisfied: […]
A welcome win against excessive technicalities
Biancaniello v. DMCT LLP 2017 ONCA 386 Ontario’s Court of Appeal has struck a welcome blow for wide-ranging general language and against requiring excessive length and specificity in contracts. The Court decided that clarified that “exceptionally comprehensive” language wasn’t necessarily required to release claims that were unknown at the time the release was signed. “[T]he language […]
“Sometimes Legal Aid Is the Problem, Not the Solution”. Superb article.
Sometimes Legal Aid Is the Problem, Not the Solution
A worrying case regarding summary judgment
Matt McCarthy of Filion, Wakely draws our attention to a recent Court of Appeal decision, Singh v. Concept Plastics Limited, 2016 ONCA 815. In this case two employees brought wrongful dismissal suits under the Simplified Procedure, and they then sought summary judgment, which a motions court judge granted them. An appeal by the employer set […]
A judicial error on a fact doesn’t create a right of appeal
Justice Warkentin, on a motion for leave to appeal a Master’s order setting aside a default judgment, noted that the Master’s factual error on a date was not enough to merit an appeal when the Master had properly considered the relevant factors on the motion before him. Wine v. Karmiol et al., 2016 ONSC 3144 […]
Supreme Court decides that no evidence can be proof
It is rare that I read a Supreme Court of Canada decision where my initial reaction is “have you completely lost the plot?“, but unfortunately the Court’s decision in British Columbia (Workers’ Compensation Appeal Tribunal) v. Fraser Health Authority produced exactly that reaction. The SCC decided, in essence, that an administrative tribunal was free, using its […]
SCC won’t hear BMO v. Spence appeal
Jacqueline M. Demczur of Carters notes that the Ontario Court of Appeal decision of Spence v BMO Trust Company will thus stay the law in Ontario. “The Spence Case arose out of a dispute between Eric Spence’s estate and Verolin Spence, Eric’s daughter (“Verolin”), when Verolin was excluded from Eric’s Will. The claim made by Verolin was that […]
Academia and Practice: a long-divorced unhappy couple
An American article, advanced for interest’s sake, so adjust for that. I make no Canadian comparisons: “Why Don’t Law School Professors Have Practical Experience These Days?“. That said, it has been many, many, many years since I found any academic article useful in litigation. I recall citing some early in my career, but the ones […]
