Civil Litigation
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April 09, 2026
Ticking clock: Navigating delay between discovering misconduct, dismissing for cause
When it comes to dismissal for just cause, we know the bar is high and employer conduct will be heavily scrutinized. We sometimes offer advice that could seem to be inconsistent:
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April 08, 2026
Prior bureau investigations irrelevant to Competition Tribunal remedies: court
The Federal Court of Appeal has ruled that prior internal investigations by the Competition Bureau into allegedly deceptive marketing practices are not relevant to remedies before the Competition Tribunal.
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April 07, 2026
Thiffault, Rice and Yasani new associates at Aird & Berlis
Zachary Thiffault, Métis from the Georgian Bay Métis Community and citizen of the Métis Nation of Ontario, is one of three new associates who joined Aird & Berlis recently. Thiffault is a member of the firm’s Indigenous practice and litigation and dispute resolution groups. Prior to joining Aird & Berlis, he articled and worked at a full-service firm in Midland, Ont., and as in-house counsel to an Indigenous government.
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April 08, 2026
Restituted art: ‘Seated Man With a Cane’ returns home
The Nahmad family is one of the leading collectors of artworks in the world and are said to have amassed approximately 4,000 paintings worth about $4 billion, most of which I understand is stored in the Geneva Freeport in Switzerland. The patriarch of the family is David Nahmad, while his son Helly runs the Helly Nahmad Gallery in New York. Other members of the family are involved in different galleries in London and New York.
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April 08, 2026
Ford government’s ‘special economic zone’ law facing constitutional challenge
Ontario’s controversial legislation allowing it to fast-track infrastructure projects is facing a constitutional challenge. A coalition of public interest and environmental groups is saying the Special Economic Zones Act (SEZA), which allows the province to establish areas where infrastructure and resource developments are exempt from provincial or municipal laws that might otherwise apply, violates s. 92 of the Constitution Act, 1867, which grants the legislature exclusive power to make laws.
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April 08, 2026
U.S. decision suggests using generative AI may endanger privilege
Only three years after its release, one prominent AI platform is being used by more than 800 million people every week. — Justice J.S. Rakoff, United States District Court
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April 08, 2026
The rule of law is not a given
Most of us who have grown up in Canada, whether we realize it or not, have always taken the rule of law for granted. We never really thought about it, or what it even was, but that is precisely the point. It has always just been there, like oxygen. You don’t think about oxygen until you have trouble breathing. We as a society are now having trouble breathing.
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April 07, 2026
Legal team appeals ruling slashing $255M contingency fee to $40M
The legal team whose contingency fee was reduced from $255 million to $40 million after it negotiated a $10-billion settlement for 21 First Nations is appealing the decision, arguing the court undervalued its role in the historic agreement.
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April 07, 2026
N.B. seeking more resident input on changes to landlord-tenant laws
New Brunswick’s government is seeking additional input from residents on changes to rental rules for tenants and landlords as part of its bid to modernize residential tenancies legislation.
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April 07, 2026
A modern approach to exhibit stamp placement on wills
When seeking probate in Ontario, applicants must provide evidence that the will was duly executed, typically in the form of an affidavit of execution, sworn by one of the subscribing witnesses to the will. The original will is attached to the affidavit as an exhibit and therefore must be marked with an exhibit stamp. While this step is routine, where an exhibit stamp is placed on a will has recently become a matter of choice rather than convention.