Does an owner of a garage owe a duty of care to teenagers who steal and drive the garage’s serviced cars? On October 5, 2017, the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) heard submissions on this unusual question in the case of James Chadwick Rankin cob Rankin’s Garage & Sales v JJ by his Litigation Guardian, […]
On October 5, 2017, the ONCA released its decision (2017 ONCA 773) on an appeal for a negligence claim made by Jordan Sacks, a man who suffered septic shock and amputations as a result of complications from bowel surgery performed at Sunnybrook Hospital. Although the jury found that the hospital, three of its doctors, and […]
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 […]
Budding Romance Justice Paul Rouleau has likely seen it all in his illustrious career—however, his ruling in the matter of PP v DD, 2017 ONCA 180 will surely stand out as memorable. The two parties before the court were once short-term lovers caught up in the throws of passion. The male, a medical doctor, the […]
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished Just when you thought you’ve done the right thing in reporting serious crime to the police, you find yourself thrown into a matrix of fear, threats, and potentially physical reprisal. That is exactly what happened to Margaret Stack in Nissen v Durham Regional Police Services Board, 2017 ONCA 10, when […]
In first year law school, we learn the seven parts of a tort claim: volition, duty of care, standard of care, harm, causation, remoteness, defence. Some learn these in different orders, some apply them in separate steps, and others apply multiple steps at one time during their analysis. Causation, however, has always been a main […]
In the past few months, Canadians have focused, often in disbelief, on the spectacle that is the 2016 United States Presidential Election. The latest controversy revolves around a New York Times article entitled “Two Women Say Donald Trump Touched Them Inappropriately.” Regardless of its contents, the article’s title alone is enough to send any political campaign into […]
Last year, TheCourt.ca posted an article discussing the fatal impaired driving incident that resulted in the death of all three of Jennifer and Edward Neville-Lake’s children. Daniel, Harrison and Milly were all under the age of ten. Jennifer’s father Gary—the children’s grandfather—was also killed in the crash. The sole survivors were their grandmother and great-grandmother, […]
Roth Estate v Juschka, 2016 ONCA 92 [Roth] is a case where the circumstances under which advice was given to family members in the context of a share purchase did not purport to necessitate the provision of independent legal advice (“ILA”). The underlying transaction was a gift from Mr. Roth and his wife (the “Roths”) […]
The internet has made our life efficient and easier but it has also enabled bullies and predators to find new and persistent ways to reach their victims. A step in the right direction was taken by the Ontario Superior Court, in Doe 464533 v ND, 2016 ONSC 541 [Doe], by establishing the new tort of […]