Personal Injury
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May 22, 2025
Proposed $21-million class action settlement reached for victims of Ottawa doctor
The end of a long-running class action against a former Ottawa family doctor who sexually abused and secretly filmed numerous female patients is potentially in sight with the announcement of a proposed $21-million settlement.
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May 22, 2025
CIVIL PROCEDURE - Settlements - Releases - Enforceability
Appeal by appellant from order of chambers judge to enforce summarily a settlement agreement with respondents and from finding settlement was valid. The appellant accepted a settlement offer from the respondents’ insurer to resolve a personal injury claim arising from a motor vehicle accident.
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May 16, 2025
Federal Court extends deadlines for immigration JRs due to surging cases, inadequate gov’t funding
Contending with far too many immigration cases for its tight budget, the Federal Court this week extended by 45 days its regulation 30-day deadlines for litigants to perfect their applications for leave and judicial review of immigration decisions (ALJRs). Why? Because the registry’s beleaguered staff simply can’t keep up, and now often needs weeks rather than days to intake and process the ALJRs — which have more than quadrupled the average volume the court experienced over the five years immediately preceding the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.
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May 16, 2025
B.C. Court of Appeal caps opioid appeal factums at 195 pages per side
The B.C. Court of Appeal has capped factums in the province’s national opioid class action appeals at 195 pages per side, rejecting the defendants’ bid for nearly 300 pages and ordering aligned parties to co-ordinate submissions to avoid duplication and inefficiency.
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May 16, 2025
Rules of Civil Procedure as seen by the Oracle of Belleville
New Rules of Civil Procedure — ahem
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May 15, 2025
Ottawa welcomes ‘historic’ international ruling that Russia shot down Malaysian civilian airliner
As Canada pursues a separate case against Iran at the UN’s International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) — for the illegal downing of a Ukrainian civilian airliner in 2020 — Ottawa said it “welcomes” the ICAO’s recent determination that the Russian Federation shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 in 2014, in breach of Russia’s obligations under international law.
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May 15, 2025
Related but distinct: The different evidentiary thresholds for pursuing future loss claims at trial
In a jury trial, a question is only put to the jury if there is reasonable evidence upon which a jury properly instructed in the law could make a finding on that issue. When it comes to claims for future losses, the plaintiff must only establish that there is a real and substantial risk those losses will occur. It is on that basis that the court must look at the evidence and determine whether it is sufficient and can be put to the jury.
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May 15, 2025
Civil rules reform based on blind data of personal injury litigation
In September 2023, Attorney General Doug Downey created the Civil Rules Review (CRR) with a mandate to identify issues and develop proposals for reforming the Rules of Civil Procedure to make civil court proceedings more efficient, affordable and accessible.
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May 15, 2025
Court decision underlines importance of proper jurisdictional channels in accident benefits cases
The Divisional Court of Ontario recently reaffirmed an established legal precedent that a catastrophic impairment (CAT) assessor must stay within their field of expertise when rendering a CAT opinion.
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May 14, 2025
Alberta court upholds privacy commissioner’s order effectively banning Clearview AI
U.S.-based facial recognition technology giant Clearview AI has been dealt another legal setback in Canada with an Alberta court decision upholding an effective ban on the company’s activities in the province.