Civil Litigation
-
June 05, 2025
Undue influence and suspicious circumstances
Lawyers who deal with potentially vulnerable clients must always be on the lookout that such clients are not the subject of undue influence. Undue influence can be exerted by people in a position to exploit the client’s vulnerabilities, such as caregivers, parents and children, and can include those who have been granted power of attorney for property or personal care.
-
June 05, 2025
Were health, safety concerns overlooked in sentencing?
Michael Allen Wiens was sentenced by a judge of the Provincial Court of British Columbia on May 29, 2024, to three years’ imprisonment for sexually assaulting a female while the victim was unconscious in her home. The judge in Surrey, B.C., also ordered Wiens to register under the Sex Offender Information Registration Act (SOIRA) for 20 years.
-
June 05, 2025
Ineffective counsel plea in family law
Family law counsel are quite familiar with client complaints. Our clients are experiencing an emotionally taxing event in their lives, and blaming is often part of the process. In previous published articles I have described my blaming hierarchy: blame the other spouse, blame the opposite counsel, blame the judge and then… blame your own lawyer. We live with this reality in our practices.
-
June 04, 2025
‘Strong borders’ bill would expand police & spy agency powers, federal tools to control migration
A wide-ranging federal omnibus bill — introduced by the minority Liberal government under the rubric of border security — would expand the powers of federal officials to restrict refugee claims and migration while also boosting the investigative and other powers of law enforcement and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) in the name of protecting national security and clamping down on money laundering, fentanyl trafficking and other organized crimes.
-
June 04, 2025
Judge Brian Hutcheson retires from B.C.’s provincial court
The Provincial Court of British Columbia has announced that Judge Brian Hutcheson retired on May 31, 2025.
-
June 04, 2025
Labour leaders call on Ottawa to impose immediate retaliatory tariffs on U.S. steel, aluminum
The leader of Canada’s largest labour organization is calling on Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government to immediately match increased U.S. tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum, which doubled to 50 per cent effective June 4.
-
June 04, 2025
Court allows contempt motion in trademark case for social media videos
The Federal Court has found a corporate plaintiff’s director in contempt of court for posting videos on social media relating to the mediation process to settle trademark litigation.
-
June 04, 2025
For insurers, it pays to wait: Why the CRR recommendations miss the mark
Faced with a backlog of cases in the civil justice system, Attorney General Doug Downey commissioned the Civil Rules Review (CRR) to make civil court proceedings more efficient, affordable and accessible. In doing so, he made the same misstep as several of his predecessors.
-
June 04, 2025
Ontario court increases damages award in lawyer’s negligence action to $273K
The Ontario Court of Appeal has increased a damages award in a solicitor’s negligence action to nearly $273,000, granting compensation for legal fees and repairs after a lawyer missed the limitation period for claims related to a real estate transaction.
-
June 04, 2025
Court decision points to continuing problems with Ontario’s tribunal system, says watchdog group
A recent Ontario Superior Court ruling helps illustrate the continuing struggles being faced by the province’s tribunal system, and the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO) in particular, says a watchdog group.