Civil Litigation
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June 28, 2024
SCC settles confusion in tax disputes about jurisdictional boundaries of Federal and Tax Courts
In judgments that clarify the jurisdictional boundaries between the Federal Court and the Tax Court in tax disputes, the Supreme Court of Canada has rejected separate appeals by two Canadian companies who challenged how their taxes were assessed by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).
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June 28, 2024
Cross-appeal denied in insurance coverage case related to $3.4M class action settlement
The Ontario Court of Appeal has denied a cross-appeal concerning an insurer’s funding agreement with a health-care company to pay a class action settlement for a privacy-breaching cyberattack.
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June 28, 2024
Feds release Canada’s Black Justice Strategy report targeting systemic racism in justice system
The federal government should establish a Black justice portfolio within the Department of Justice to focus on policy development and legal reform to counter systemic racial biases in Canada’s justice system, according to a just-released report.
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June 28, 2024
Appeal court finds insurer not liable to cover legal costs of fraudsters, citing misrepresentation
The Ontario Court of Appeal has ruled that two individuals facing lawsuits concerning an alleged Ponzi scheme operated through certain companies were not entitled to insurance coverage for their legal defence due to a material misrepresentation in their applications for coverage.
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June 28, 2024
Veteran Toronto lawyer starts term as LSO treasurer
The Law Society of Ontario’s (LSO) new treasurer praised his predecessor, spoke of past accomplishments and talked about “ceremony, fellowship and policy.” The LSO’s June 28 Convocation featured remarks by newly elected treasurer Peter Wardle, a Toronto-based commercial litigation and professional liability lawyer who will serve in the role for the 2024-25 term.
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June 28, 2024
Designing the impossible: A perfect Request to Admit Rule
The recent decision in Khan v. Law Society of Ontario, [2024] O.J. No. 276 has sparked renewed interest by regulators of professions in whether the “request to admit” process can have the effect of streamlining discipline hearings. The Divisional Court upheld a discipline finding based, in large part, on deemed admissions by the lawyer facing discipline who had refused to make admission on the facts contained in a 484-paragraph request to admit that included 310 documents. The discipline hearing panel ruled the facts in the request to admit were deemed to be admitted because the lawyer had failed to properly engage with the process. In essence, the lawyer had responded with a blanket denial (based on legal arguments) without responding specifically to the assertions of fact or the authenticity of the individual documents.
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June 27, 2024
Canada sanctions ‘extremist settler violence’ against Palestinians
Canada has imposed sanctions on seven Israelis and five entities in Israel “in response to the grave breach of international peace and security posed by their violent and destabilizing actions against Palestinian civilians and their property in the West Bank.”
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June 27, 2024
CRA warns legal action to recover pandemic benefit overpayments will begin in July
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is warning that it will begin taking legal action in July against individuals who have not co-operated in returning overpayments from COVID-19 benefit programs, including the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB).
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June 27, 2024
B.C. Court of Appeal rejects appeal related to $20M pump-and-dump smartphone company scheme
The British Columbia Court of Appeal has dismissed the appeals of three men who took part in a US$20 million market manipulation fraud that involved promoting their smartphone company, Kunekt Corp., as the “next Apple.”
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June 27, 2024
Navigating multi-party injury litigation
The process of representing one victim in a negligence claim against a defendant or insurance company is complex, at times stressful and subject to court delays. When you add the complexities of multiple plaintiffs or multiple defendants to the already complex legal process, you are often subjected to compounding delays that may add stress to you and your clients.