COVID-19, Force Majeure Clauses and Frustration of Contract
This blog is intended to provide a brief overview of force majeure clauses and the equitable principle of frustration of contract and their potential applicability to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Two sides of same coin: Derivative action and oppression remedy
One of the most fundamental principles of Canadian corporate law is that a corporation has a legal personality distinct from its shareholders. At common law, shareholders were precluded from bringing their own action in respect of a wrong done to the corporation. Even majority or controlling shareholders had no personal cause of action for a wrong done to the corporation.
Going nuclear: Freezing assets with a Mareva injunction
Courts are generally loath to permit “execution before judgment”. The simple reason is that a plaintiff has not yet proven their case against the defendant. Tying up a defendant’s assets pending a trial that may be a couple years away may cause an inequitable result if the defendant is ultimately successful in showing that a plaintiff’s claim is unmeritorious. The freezing order could also make the defendant unable to defend itself or result in a “forced” settlement on terms that the defendant would not have otherwise agreed to.
Fraudulent Conveyances and Estate Litigation
It has been 18 years since the Court of Appeal for Ontario decided Stone v. Stone. In this case the Court characterized inter vivos gifts from a father to his adult children as a fraudulent conveyance because the gifts were intended to thwart a spouse’s entitlement under the Family Law Act. Let’s see how courts have applied this seminal case.
Defining Death – The Court of Appeal Weighs in on McKitty v. Hayani
How do we know when someone has died? This question has been the subject of debate in Western societies since at least the eighteenth century, and in modern times has become increasingly fraught due to advancements in medical knowledge and resuscitative technology. Historically, the conception of the moment of death was largely based upon cessation of a person’s breathing and heartbeat. However, in recent years most countries have accepted that “brain death” is an additional basis upon which to define death.
Norwich Orders: Getting Behind the Mask
Technology has both lessened and increased people’s ability to stay anonymous in society. Sometimes that anonymity has necessitated the application of old legal and equitable doctrines to new legal problems.
Equitable fraud – an overlooked arrow in the lawyer’s quiver?
The doctrine of undue influence is frequently employed to attack gifts. However, can the doctrine of equitable fraud apply when the requirements of undue influence are not otherwise met? That is the subject of this blog.
Establishing the standard of care in negligence claims against Accountants
In our previous blog, we talked about how expert evidence is often essential to establish the parameters of the standard of care in professional negligence claims. In this blog, we outline how an expert formulates an opinion on those parameters using professional negligence claims against accountants as an example.
The Role of an Expert in Professional Negligence Claims
Liability in negligence does not necessarily follow where the conduct of one person has caused economic loss to another. To impose liability, you must first establish the existence of a duty of care and a failure on the part of the defendant to meet the required standard of care.
What Happens When a Party Dies During a Lawsuit?
The death of a party during a lawsuit almost inevitably complicates the litigation. In this first in a series of blogs, we set out the procedural steps that must be taken in order to proceed with the lawsuit following the death of a party.