There is an old adage that says that any lawyer who represents themselves has a fool for a client, but this can also apply to non-lawyers as well. Some litigants choose to represent themselves in civil court matters, usually for one of two reasons. Either they are unable to afford the costs of a lawyer […]
Category Archives: Complex Corporate Commercial Litigation
Constructive Trusts: A Remedy for Wrongful Conduct
Constructive trusts are sometimes used by a court to impose a remedy for a party who was deprived of their rights to property via the wrongful or fraudulent conduct of a third party. This is an equitable remedy created through the common law to make the situation right, as though the wrongful conduct had not […]
Derivative Contracts: Speculation or Hedging?
The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) recently released an important taxation decision dealing with how to characterize capital and income losses under a derivative contract. In MacDonald v. Canada, a taxpayer sought to deduct payments he had made to his bank as part of a loan arrangement. His position was that the payments were income […]
A Principled Exception to the Hearsay Rule
Hearsay evidence is defined as an out of court statement being used to prove the truth of its content. If the issue is the colour of a streetlight, an example of hearsay evidence would be using the earlier statement of a witness whose whereabouts were now unknown. The absence of the observer means there can […]
The Condominium Act & The Oppression Remedy
We have previously written about the remedy of oppression, and how it applies to the actions taken by a corporation that cause harm to individual shareholders, officers, directors, creditors or debtors. The remedy applied will depend on the type of oppressive conduct, but can include restraint fo the conduct, removal of officers or directors, and […]
The Presumption of Undue Influence
The equitable doctrine of undue influence is there to prevent one person from taking advantage of their position of power and authority over another person. This inequity in power between parties can vitiate the weaker party’s consent to an agreement, as they were unable to freely exercise their independent will. In other words, they would […]
Shareholder Disputes Expected to Rise in Canada’s Cannabis Industry
When cannabis was legalized in Canada in 2018, many people, including financial investors, assumed the industry would be a nearly foolproof opportunity. However, due to a sudden rise in class-action lawsuits in Canada and the U.S., many shareholders are facing an unexpected devaluation of stock. Some people believe this could lead to an increase in […]
The Rule in Foss v. Harbottle
The rule in Foss v. Harbottle is well established in Ontario law. The rule prevents shareholders from suing for a loss in the value of their shares brought about by a wrong done to the corporation. The rule is a consequence of the separate legal personality of the corporation. Just as shareholders (subject to limited […]
SCC Deems Uber Arbitration Clause “Unconscionable”
A few weeks ago, we wrote about the enforceability of arbitration clauses in various contexts. In that discussion, we mentioned an ongoing class action in Ontario called Uber Technologies v. Heller. At the time, the case was awaiting a decision from the Supreme Court of Canada with respect to the enforceability of an arbitration clause […]
The Enforceability of Arbitration Clauses in Ontario
Whether in a shareholder agreement or an employment contract, the enforceability and permissible scope of an arbitration clause have been hot topics in Ontario courts in recent years. Below, we will look at how the courts have interpreted these issues and what it means for arbitration clauses in contracts going forward. What is an Arbitration […]