The Ontario Court of Appeal has laid down a zero tolerance policy on police beating of suspects to obtain confessions. In R v Singh, 2013 ONCA 750 [Singh], the court held that a suspect’s conviction for robbery should be stayed because the police subjected him to repeated beatings during his interrogation. The trial judge dismissed the accused’s […]
Roughly half a year has passed since the United States Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in United States v Windsor, 570 US (2013), but it is increasingly clear that the marriage equality battle in the courts is far from over. On December 20, Judge Robert Shelby of the Utah Federal Court struck down the state’s prohibition […]
On November 15, 2013, the Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC") released its ruling in Alberta (Information and Privacy Commissioner) v United Food and Commercial Workers, Local 401, [2013] 3 SCR 733 [Local 401]. The Court unanimously held that Alberta’s Personal Information Protection Act, SA 2003 c P-6.5 [PIPA] infringed the right to freedom of expression guaranteed by section […]
Normal 0 One of the fundamental principles of contract law is that damages are based on the actual loss suffered by the innocent party when there is a breach of contract. Damages restore the innocent party to the position she would have been in if the contract had been fulfilled. However, she is required to […]
The ratio of a case answers the question: “what was decided?” It conveys the judicial reasoning that determines a legal issue. This reasoning synthesizes legal rules, evidence and social values. The ratio of an appellate court decision binds courts of first instance, requiring the lower court to apply the ratio to any analogous case over which they preside. “As a general […]
Introduction In order for a class action to be certified, a judge must be satisfied that a class action is the “preferable” way of bringing the claims as against other alternatives. In Hollick v Toronto (City), [2001] 3 SCR 158, McLachlin CJ wrote that this preferability analysis must focus on the three “advantages” of class […]
In Yaiguaje v Chevron Corporation, 2013 ONCA 758 [Yaiguaje], a decision released on December 17, 2013, the Ontario Court of Appeal considered the power of Ontario courts to hear actions seeking to enforce and recognize foreign judgments in Ontario. In this context, the court also discussed the appropriateness of staying a proceeding pursuant to section 106 […]
To end its 2013 sessions, the Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC") released its judgment in Canada (Attorney General) v Bedford, [2013] 3 SCR 1101 [Bedford], effectively striking down all of the current laws restricting to autonomous prostitution. I released a preliminary post summarizing the legal basis for the judgment shortly after the decision was released, here. Writing […]
Reading through Canada (Attorney General) v Bedford, [2013] 3 SCR 1101 [Bedford], it is clear that the crimes of serial killer Robert Pickton, and the phenomenon of missing and murdered women from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside (DTES), were instrumental the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision to strike down three Criminal Code, RSC, 1985, c C-46 provisions related to […]
Canadian patent law has undergone a number of significant developments throughout the past year, with numerous issues capturing the attention of the Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC"). In particular, the issue of disclosure has undergone a great deal of juridical scrutiny. Disclosure constitutes a fundamental tenet of patent law aimed at striking a balance between […]