On January 12, 2012, the Federal government filed pleadings in a Toronto case commenced by a non-resident same-sex couple seeking a divorce. The documents shocked many people and essentially, told thousands of same-sex couples who came to Canada from out of the country since 2004 to get married that they are not legally wed. In the specific case in which the documents were filed, the couple wed in Toronto in 2005 and cannot divorce because (according to the documents) their marriage was not legal in Canada since they could not have lawfully wed in Florida or England, where the two … Read the rest of this entry »
When is it fair to compel a defendant to produce surveillance evidence – before or after a defence medical examination? In Aherne v. Chang, [2011] ONSC 3846 (Ont. Sup. Ct.), the defendants argued that they were not obligated to disclose their surveillance evidence until the moment they produced their defence medical report. In keeping with the principle that expert witnesses are to take a non-partisan role in proceedings, Justice Perell upheld the decision of Master Short and found that the privilege associated with surveillance evidence was waived upon it being disclosed to the medical practitioner who conducted the defence medical examination. … Read the rest of this entry »
The British Columbia Court of Appeal has recently affirmed the trial decision of Nesbitt v. Neufeld. In this case, the father used the internet and Facebok to publicly disparage his child’s mother. He was ordered to pay her $40,000 for defamation and invasion of privacy. The amount was made up of special legal costs in addition to damages. The decision is thought to be unique and there are not many of its kind. In fact, there does not appear to be any other social media defamation cases of family members in Canadian judgments. Tweet
We are estate lawyers and business lawyers in Toronto who keep abreast of new legal developments. The Christmas season is behind us and the annual speculation over immaculate conception forgotten for most. A new tort was born just before the holidays and unfortunately not accorded much fanfare. New torts are almost as rare as shining stars in the East and deserve to be either publicly celebrated or vilified. The new tort is invasion of privacy. Or perhaps more accurately stated, the old tort of invasion of privacy been has now been restated to expressly include intrusion upon exclusion. Or put another … Read the rest of this entry »
To err is human. However, when a mistake is made in the drafting of a Will, and the error is not discovered until after the testator has died, the consequences can be significant – both emotionally and financially. When a error is discovered after death, can a Judge rectify the error by deleting words from, or adding words to, the Will? The 2009 decision of Justice Pattillo in Lipson v. Lipson, provides assistance to counsel in understanding the circumstances in which the court can add or delete words to a will. Justice Pattillo confirms that the jurisprudence on the matter indicates that … Read the rest of this entry »
