Civil Litigation

  • September 29, 2026

    Writs of mandamus in U.S. immigration law: What they are, when to use them

    In general, a writ of mandamus (“mandamus”) is a formal court order that requires a government official, an agency or a lower court to take a specific action. The action must be within the duties of the office, agency or court, and there must be a legal requirement that the action be performed. Mandamus is extraordinary relief and is effectively utilized when there is a clear legal duty to be performed, a clear right to relief on the part of the petitioner, and the petitioner appears to have no alternative to obtain the relief they deserve.

  • September 29, 2026

    COMMUNITIES AND GOVERNANCE - Practice and procedure - Courts - Jurisdiction

    Appeal by the appellants from a Federal Court decision dismissing their motion for default judgment against the Kehewin Band and Kehewin Band Council (jointly, “Kehewin”) for lack of jurisdiction.

  • September 28, 2026

    Proposed settlement of $3.4M-$8.7M reached in sexual assault class action

    A settlement agreement has been reached between the plaintiff and the English Montreal School Board (EMSB) to settle a class action that was brought against it and the defendant, Phillip (Hart) Baugniet, in an alleged sexual assault case.

  • September 28, 2026

    Manitoba to expand presumptive compensation coverage for firefighters

    Manitoba is strengthening workers’ compensation coverage for firefighters by widening the scope of job-related sickness and presuming their illnesses are work-related.

  • September 28, 2026

    Mortgage broker’s insurer must cover loss of client funds stolen from trust account: court

    The Ontario Court of Appeal has ruled that an insurer must cover a claim arising from a mortgage brokerage’s fraudulent misappropriation of client money, finding that funds held in trust can still qualify as “mortgage funds” under the policy’s fraud endorsement.

  • September 28, 2026

    Lawyers think they are good at communication — but do they pause?

    Ask any lawyer to name the most important advocacy tools and you will hear their checklist — knowing the law, skillfully drafting documents, studiously preparing for hearings and delivering forceful oratory. Almost no lawyer mentions that staying silent, pausing before speaking and delivering a relational message are the most important advocacy tools.

  • September 28, 2026

    POWERS OF MUNICIPALITY - Services and utilities

    Appeal by appellants from a decision of Alberta Utilities Commission (Commission) establishing parameters for 2024–2028 performance-based regulation plan.

  • September 25, 2026

    Ontario Appeal Court upholds refusal to certify Jehovah’s Witness sexual abuse class action

    The Ontario Court of Appeal has upheld the denial of certification of a proposed class action against a Canadian Jehovah’s Witness corporation over alleged childhood sexual abuse by congregation members.

  • September 25, 2026

    Federal Court allows leave to file new evidence in CNR trademark appeal

    The Federal Court has ruled that a successful party before the Trademarks Opposition Board may introduce material evidence on appeal to address evidentiary shortcomings identified by the board, as it may impact the appeal despite previous success. 

  • September 25, 2026

    Co-founder terminations: The importance of good paper signed on incorporation

    Barry Anthony Cullain owned one-third of an Ontario elevator maintenance business and was its vice-president of operations. The other two shareholders each held a third. While an acquisition financing was closing, they proposed to buy his shares. The financing failed. They took him off the payroll and said he had retired.

  • September 25, 2026

    Supreme Court’s Côté J. an impactful ‘out of the box’ thinker: law professor

    Supreme Court of Canada Justice Suzanne Côté has significantly impacted the top court’s jurisprudence and culture since her appointment almost 12 years ago, says University of Alberta constitutional law professor Gerard Kennedy.

  • September 25, 2026

    Exclusive: Supreme Court of Canada Justice Suzanne Côté mulls her post-bench future

    Supreme Court of Canada Justice Suzanne Côté is thinking about what life after the bench might look like, she tells Law360 Canada. The court’s impactful and most prolific judge, who turned 68 this week with no apparent loss of drive or energy, says she is healthy and still loves the work that has earned her a reputation as a trailblazer and original thinker.

  • September 25, 2026

    Decision to cancel university lecture flawed because of failure to consider Charter: Alberta judge

    An Alberta judge has ruled the University of Lethbridge was wrong to cancel a speech by a controversial academic, saying the school did not properly consider freedom of expression issues before making its move.

  • September 25, 2026

    Two distinct tests in Start-Up Visa applications and the cost of conflating them

    In Punjwani v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2026 FC 1033, the Federal Court addressed a recurring analytical error in Start-Up Visa cases: treating the qualifying-business requirements in s. 98.06 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, SOR/2002-227 (IRPR), as though they answered an artificial-transaction finding under paragraph 89(b). They do not. The provisions impose different requirements, and an argument directed to one may fail to address a refusal under the other.

  • September 25, 2026

    New litigator joins Langlois in Montreal

    Langlois has announced that Samuel Lavoie has joined the firm’s litigation group.  

  • September 25, 2026

    David Postel new partner at WEL Partners

    David Postel has joined WEL Partners as a partner, where he acts for clients on the estates, civil, and commercial lists throughout Ontario in trusts, estates and related matters. According to a statement from the firm, Postel’s practice also deals with family wealth disputes over control of closely held businesses.

  • September 25, 2026

    90/10 means 90/10: How the Ontario Court of Appeal unravelled the Stacey v. Vey award

    Shelley-Anne Stacey and William Vey lived together for three and a half years. They never married and had no children. The Appeal Court determined that the uncontroverted evidence was that there was a brief relationship that was not stable, with no children or common family obligations. Stacey moved into Vey’s Richmond Hill, Ont., home in July 2015. Two years later, Vey sold the home and the couple moved into a new home in Alliston, 90 kilometres north of Toronto.

  • September 24, 2026

    Court limits record to documents before board in Vancouver port fee challenge

    The Federal Court of Appeal has upheld a ruling that the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority is not required to provide terminal operators challenging an infrastructure fee with documents used to develop it because they were not before the board that approved the fee.

  • September 24, 2026

    On appeal, tax courts look for material errors, not just procedural fairness: Lessons from Siam v. Canada

    Part one of this series examined how the Federal Court of Appeal in Siam v. Canada, 2026 FCA 91 applied the Mpamugo v. The Queen, 2016 TCC 215 framework to a taxpayer’s claim that the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) never sent his original Notice of Assessment.

  • September 24, 2026

    Pink Larkin adds Halifax associates for litigation, labour

    Meili Toner and Antonia Chircop have joined Pink Larkin as associates in its Halifax office.

  • September 24, 2026

    Matt McLeod joins Blake, Cassels & Graydon

    Toronto-based lawyer Matt McLeod has joined Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP as a partner in the firm’s defence group.

  • September 24, 2026

    An estate lawyer’s guide to the estate litigation galaxy

    As estate planning lawyers, we constantly orbit the estate litigation galaxy, navigating to keep our clients’ estates from being pulled into the black hole of court. This article is a guide for both estate planning lawyers and their clients to stay in “safe orbit” and navigate smartly around some of the most common estate litigation in the galaxy, with a nod to the late 1970s comedy science-fiction series A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

  • September 24, 2026

    ASSESSMENT OF DAMAGES - Measure of damages - Deductions - Limiting factors - Pre-existing conditions

    Appeal by appellant from a damages award following a motor vehicle accident. The respondent admitted liability for a rear-end motor vehicle accident.

  • September 23, 2026

    Canadian justice system attracts EU interest amid rule of law threats abroad: top judge

    Chief Justice of Canada Richard Wagner says Canada’s independent justice system and perspective on confronting global threats to the rule of law has attracted interest abroad. Speaking Sept. 22 at a Newfoundland and Labrador law society event in St. John’s, Chief Justice Wagner told local lawyers and those online that he was the only non-European court leader invited to attend the meeting in Cyprus last June of the Network of the Presidents of the Supreme Judicial Courts of the 27-member European Union (EU).

  • September 23, 2026

    Burden initially on taxpayer to prove CRA never sent Notice of Assessment: Lessons from Siam v. Canada

    This is part one of a two-part series examining Siam v. Canada, 2026 FCA 91, in which the Federal Court of Appeal addressed a recurring evidentiary problem in tax reassessment litigation: what a taxpayer must actually prove when arguing that the Canada Revenue Agency never sent an original Notice of Assessment.

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