Latest
Tuesday, September 12, 2023 @ 10:24 AM
Letters rogatory: Can I be compelled to give evidence in a U.S. lawsuit?
Sometimes, a domestic court needs the help of a foreign court to obtain evidence from a foreign non-party witness for a domestic legal proceeding. The process for requesting such help is called “letters rogatory” or “letters of assistance.” ... [read more]
Tuesday, September 12, 2023 @ 9:59 AM
Family law shouldn’t be a game – but it is | Joel Miller
Those of us who choose to practise family law take it seriously. We don’t treat it as a game. But as practised in our family courts it is. Our traditional two-party adversarial family law system is a zero-sum game in which whatever one party wins the other loses. ... [read more]
Tuesday, September 12, 2023 @ 6:32 AM
CIVIL PROCEDURE - Parties - Class or representative actions - Certification - Pleadings
Appeal by appellants from order dismissing an application brought on behalf of KO by her litigation guardian JO, and JO himself, to have the proceedings certified as a class action on grounds that trial judge erred in concluding pleadings did not disclose cause of action. The appellants sought to bring a class claim on behalf of all persons who, on or after July 1, 1968, suffered from a mental illness while resident in British Columbia, the main class, and on behalf of family members who rendered personal care to a member of the main class. ... [read more]
Monday, September 11, 2023 @ 4:28 PM
[ Legal Wire ] -
B.C. Court of Appeal upholds stay of Google class action as subset of broader class action
The B.C. Court of Appeal has upheld a decision staying a class action against Google on the grounds that it was a subset of second proposed class action brought in the same jurisdiction and founded on the same cause of action. ... [read more]
Monday, September 11, 2023 @ 3:10 PM
Canada apologizes for illegal land grab after B.C. First Nation’s three-decade quest for justice
A British Columbia First Nation’s 30-year quest for justice to the Supreme Court of Canada and beyond — that sought reparations for an 1860 illegal land grab that expelled its members from their traditional village lands, pushing many to the brink of starvation — has garnered a formal public apology from Canada, following a $135-million specific claim settlement last year. ... [read more]
Monday, September 11, 2023 @ 2:14 PM
All lawyers must know technology used by courts: experts
Regardless of age, practice or jurisdiction, lawyers must stay up-to-speed on technologies now being used by courts post-pandemic, say experts following a strongly worded “cautionary tale” out of Alberta’s highest court. ... [read more]
Monday, September 11, 2023 @ 1:31 PM
[ Legal Wire ] -
Court refuses to set aside Mareva injunction in Ponzi scheme case regarding US$9.4M
The Supreme Court of British Columbia has declined to set aside a Mareva injunction against the defendants for their involvement in an alleged Ponzi scheme, despite a material misrepresentation by the plaintiffs. ... [read more]
Friday, September 08, 2023 @ 2:53 PM
When a client lacks the capacity to instruct counsel
Mental health issues are increasingly part of a family lawyer’s practice. Inadequate community resources for those suffering from such afflictions exasperate the problem. Often dealing with the emotional impact of a separation and/or divorce can drive an otherwise emotionally healthy client to emotional or mental breakdown. Marital breakdown and mental health issues often cause a family lawyer to question the client’s ability and capacity to instruct counsel. I have compiled this summary of issues that arise when counsel is confronted with a client who is not able to instruct for reasons of mental health and/or cognitive impairment. ... [read more]
Friday, September 08, 2023 @ 1:50 PM
Goal of SABS is to reduce economic hardship of accident victims
The Ontario Divisional Court recently issued a decision that reminds insureds, insurers and Licence Appeal Tribunal adjudicators that the goal of the statutory accident benefits schedule (SABS) is to reduce the economic dislocation and hardship of motor vehicle accident victims. When adjudicating disputes between insurers and their insureds, the tribunal should interpret the SABS in a remedial and inclusive way. ... [read more]
Friday, September 08, 2023 @ 12:11 PM
Law school study shows recent grads job-hopping for better pay and bonuses
Most Canadian junior lawyers are finding jobs that they like following graduation from law school. But for many of them, it’s taking a few attempts to find the right employment fit, according to the recently released results of the sixth annual survey of Canadian law schools jointly conducted by the Washington, D.C.-headquartered National Association for Law Placement (NALP) and the NALP Foundation for Law Career Research and Education, based in Boston. ... [read more]