In a unanimous decision, the New Brunswick Court of Appeal in LeBlanc v Doucet and the New Brunswick Power Corporation, 2012 NBCA 88 held in favour of a plaintiff’s ability to recover interest on a loan used to pay for legal fees in a personal injury claim. On September 23, 2004, Francis LeBlanc was seriously injured […]
The concept of freedom is one of the most perplexing issues that modern courts are forced to grapple with. Freedom is the glue that holds liberal democracies together; yet, in the age of terror, restrictions on freedom have become more commonplace as a means to preserve that very concept. The idea that we, as a […]
Last year, TheCourt.ca tackled the increasingly heated battle between two luxury fashion houses, Christian Louboutin and Yves Saint Laurent (YSL). Christian Louboutin, the famous French shoe designer best known for his heels with the red sole, sued Yves Saint Laurent for trademark infringement, claiming more than $1 million in damages. The battle began when Yves […]
The Ontario Medical Association (OMA) has suggested implementing measures lifted from anti-tobacco campaigns to battle Canada's obesity epidemic. The multi-pronged approach includes a tax increase on junk food, advertising bans, and perhaps most controversially, the placement of graphic images on the packaging of high calorie foods with low nutritional value such as pop and potato […]
Last Thursday, the Supreme Court of Canada rendered its long awaited judgment in Opitz v Wrzesnewskyj, [2012] 3 SCR 76 [Opitz]. The material facts and the operative parts of the lower court decision on the matter have been covered by TheCourt.ca here and here. As a result, in this post, I focus only on the Supreme Court of […]
On 12 October 2012, the Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC") released its judgment on R v Prokofiew, [2012] 2 SCR 639 [Prokofiew], which finally demystifies s. 4(6) of the Canada Evidence Act, RSC, 1985, c C-5 [CEA]. This section provides that the failure of an accused to testify “shall not be made the subject of comment by the […]
This is the second part of a two-part post regarding R v DC and R v Mabior. Part I looked at the incremental change in the law that these cases represent and the questions that were left unanswered by the SCC. Part I can be found here. On October 5, 2012, the Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC") released its highly […]
On October 19, 2012, the Supreme Court of Canada released its judgment in R v Cole, [2012] 3 SCR 34 [Cole]. The decision on the search and seizure of child pornography on a work-issued laptop was highly anticipated not only by criminal lawyers but those in labour and employment law as well. Although not subject to the […]
How much of a party’s submissions can a judge incorporate into the judgment without attribution? Setting aside issues of honesty in scholarship, the Court will have the opportunity to address the duties and responsibilities of judges in Eric Victor Cojocaru, et al. v. British Columbia Women's Hospital and Health Center, et al. At stake is […]
Today, at 9:45 AM, the Supreme Court of Canada rendered judgment in Opitz v Wrzesnewskyj 2012 SCC 55. The case was launched by defeated Liberal incumbent Borys Wrzesnewskyj, who lost his Etobicoke-Centre seat in the 2011 Federal election to Conservative Ted Opitz by 26 votes. Wrzesnewskyj and his lawyers were able to convince Justice Lederer of the […]