Damages
Matthews v Ocean Nutrition: Departed employee awarded $1M bonus from company’s sale during notice period
A dismissed employee is entitled to a bonus that vests during their notice period, absent clear contractual language to the contrary.
SCC to Hear Woman Arrested for Not Holding a Handrail
The Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) will hear Bela Kosoian, a woman arrested in a Quebec subway station for failing to hold an escalator handrail. Leave was granted on Thursday, November 15. I will discuss the background, legal framework, and procedural history of this case – which was recently featured in headlines internationally—before offering some […]
Wilson v Alharayeri: Personal Liability of Directors for Oppression
On July 13, 2017, the Supreme Court of Canada released Wilson v Alharayeri, 2017 SCC 39 [Wilson], in which it unanimously reaffirmed that a corporation’s directors, as opposed to the corporation, may be personally liable in an oppressive action. This provided much-needed clarity on the scope of potential personal liability of directors and officers under […]
SCC Makes Promising Move Towards Destigmatizing Mental Harm, But Will Saadati Unleash the Spectre of Indeterminate Liability?
In its June decision, Saadati v Moorhead, 2017 SCC 28 [Saadati], the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) made a ground-breaking decision on psychiatric injury, moving in a bold direction away from appellate jurisprudence and the path taken by courts in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Australia (para 28), in holding that medical evidence is […]
Stilwell v World Kitchen Inc: Ontario Court of Appeal Affirms Deference to Jury Awards
In Stilwell v World Kitchen Inc, 2014 ONCA 770, the appellants, World Kitchen Inc. ("World Kitchen") and Corning Inc. ("Corning") appealed a jury award of $1,157,850 for negligence relating to product liability. In the result, the Court of Appeal affirmed that a significant degree of deference is owed to civil jury awards.
The Search for Goldilocks in the Wilderness of Punitive Damages: Pate Estate v Galway-Cavendish and Harvey (Townships)
In March 1999, Mr. John Gordon Pate was wrongfully dismissed by the Township of Galway-Cavendish and Harvey, after having worked for the Township as a building inspector for nearly a decade. After a subsequent police investigation, a four-day criminal trial, a civil action by Mr. Pate, a successful appeal to the Ontario Court of Appeal […]
Supreme Court of Canada condones copying in Cojocaru
In an era where the bench and society recognize that judges are hard-pressed for time and resources, and given Chief Justice McLachlin’s repeated calls for increased access to justice, the Supreme Court of Canada’s unanimous decision in Cojocaru (Guardian ad litem of) v. British Columbia Women's Hospital & Health Center, 2013 SCC 30, is hardly […]
Finding the City Negligent in Williams v Toronto (City)
In Williams v Toronto, 2012 ONCA 915, the Ontario Court of Appeal explores the relationship between the City and a tenant, Mr. Williams, over loss of rent paid by tenants owed reduced rent under a statutory rent-reduction scheme. This case determined that there could be sufficient relationship between the tenants and the City to ground […]