Important reasons for judgement were released today by the BC Court of Appeal (MacKenzie v. Rogalasky) addressing an unsettled area of law, whether interest charges on disbursements incurred during the prosecution of an injury lawsuit could be recovered. In short BC’s highest court ruled they cannot.
Author Archives: Admin2
Auto insurance a huge — but crucial — investment
Auto insurance is a costly but necessary venture. While the costs of insurance can be high, the potential costs of driving without insurance are not only illegal in Ontario but can be financially catastrophic.
Taking Steps to Keep Auto Insurance Affordable
Rates are linked to claims costs and further action to reduce costs and uncertainty in the auto insurance system is needed to achieve the government’s 15 per cent average rate reduction target. The government will continue to review additional possible reforms, but it is also important for the insurance industry to help keep auto insurance affordable.
http://www.fin.gov.on.ca/en/budget/fallstatement/2014/bk6.html
College won’t explain restrictions put on pediatrician convicted of sex assault
A pediatrician who has worked in Mississauga and Sarnia is still practising after being convicted of sexually assaulting women related to his work.
Motherisk concerns a ‘wake-up call’ for family lawyers
The Family Lawyers Association says concerns about the reliability of the hair drug tests performed by the Motherisk lab at Sick Kids will compel lawyers to question expert evidence.
Growth slows and Revenues Fall: Liberals’ Economic Statement
Catherine Fife, Ontario NDP Finance Critic (MPP, Kitchener-Waterloo), says that Liberals’ fall economic statement shows that Ontario’s slow growth and falling revenues will result in deeper cuts, more privatization and sale of public assets.
The most interesting man at Queen’s Park
Jagmeet Singh stands out. In the bespoke suits and custom-fitted shirts he favours, Singh looks like he should be on the cover of a glossy magazine — which he was when Toronto Life named him to their best-dressed list last year.
http://www.canadianlawyermag.com/5355/The-most-interesting-man-at-Queens-Park.html
Fitbit Data Now Being Used In The Courtroom
Personal injury cases are prime targets for manipulation and conjecture. How do you show that someone who’s been in a car accident can’t do their job properly, and deserves thousands of dollars in compensation? Till now lawyers have relied on doctors to observe someone for half an hour or so and give their, sometimes-biased opinion. Soon, they might also tap the wealth of quantifiable data provided by fitness trackers. A law firm in Calgary is working on the first known personal injury case that will use activity data from a Fitbit to help show the effects of an accident on their client.
Clinical Record Disclosure Thwarts Adverse Inference Request
In the recent case (Beggs v. Stone) the Plaintiff was involved in a 2009 collision caused by the Defendant. The Plaintiff suffered a variety of soft tissue injuries with accompanying psychological difficulties which rendered her disabled. In the course of the trial the Plaintiff did not call a variety of treating physicians including one who treated her before and shortly after the collision and treating psychologists. In declining to draw an adverse inference Mr. Justice Smith placed ‘particular emphasis‘ on the fact that fulsome disclosure of these treating physicians records was made. In finding no inference should be made the Court provided the following reasons:
Supreme Court of Canada ruling makes honesty the law for businesses
Lying in business will be a lot more expensive after a Supreme Court of Canada ruling that establishes a ground-breaking new doctrine in contract law.
“The tide has come in,” said veteran Toronto litigator Paul Pape, who frequently represents shareholders and other parties against businesses in class-action lawsuits. “If you lie, it’s going to cost you now.”
In a unanimous ruling, a panel of seven Supreme Court justices rewrote centuries-old common law to clarify bewildering Canadian case law about the legal duty of businesses to act in good faith with companies and people with whom they have contracts. Some areas of contractual law, such as employment, franchise and insurance agreements, already require a duty of good faith, but no such standard exists in the broader arena of commercial contracts. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/supreme-court-of-canada-ruling-makes-honesty-the-law-for-businesses/article21583597/