Expertise

Publications

Supreme Court of Canada Denies Recovery in "Fly-in-the-Bottle" Case as Injury to Plaintiff not Foreseeable

In its decision in Mustapha v. Culligan of Canada Ltd.,the Supreme Court of Canada made a major ruling on the law of negligence in Canada.  More

Ontario Court of Appeal Denies a Liability Insurer the Right to Appoint Defence Counsel

The past few years have seen a number of rulings by the courts relating to liability insurers' duty to defend their insureds. One of the questions that has been examined is whether an insured sometimes has the right to choose defence counsel.  More

Supreme Court of Canada: Insurers Cannot Always Benefit from Legal Subrogation

A recent decision of the Supreme Court of Canada, in a case from Quebec, confirms the wisdom of insurers' longstanding practice of obtaining a transfer of their insureds' rights when they pay claims.  More

Electronic Court Filing: A Cost Efficient Alternative for Today's Litigant

E-filing is a major development which is quickly changing the way North American courts operate.  More

Enforcement of Patent Rights in Pre-Trial Proceedings

An article co-authored by Brian Daley, a partner at Ogilvy Renault, compares pre-trial procedures in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom.  More

Damages for Peace of Mind Contracts - The Supreme Court of Canada Rules

In Fidler v. Sun Life Assurance Co. of Canada, 2006 SCC 30, the Supreme Court of Canada has confirmed that an award of damages for mental distress may be made in a breach of contract case where the object of the contract was to secure a psychological ...  More

Claims-Made Insurance - Supreme Court of Canada Rules on What Constitutes a "Claim"

On June 1, 2006 the Supreme Court of Canada held in Jesuit Fathers of Upper Canada v. Guardian Insurance Co. of Canada, 2006 SCC 21, that coverage is not available under a claims-made insurance policy for injuries that are merely discovered during the ...  More

Social Host Liability - Direction from the Supreme Court of Canada

On May 5, 2006, the Supreme Court of Canada, in Childs v. Desormeaux, 2006 SCC 18, held that, as a general rule, the host of a private party at which alcohol is served does not owe a duty of care to a person injured by a guest who consumed alcohol at ...  More

Canada Privacy Commissioner Finds Complaints About an Insurer's Videotape Surveillance Not Well Founded

On August 9, 2005, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada brought some clarity to the lawfulness of videotape surveillance in the context of an insurer seeking information to defend a lawsuit.  More

Criminal Record: The Court of Appeal Clarifies an Insured's Duty to Inform

The extent of the duty that a client has to disclose information relevant to the risk when making an initial declaration has given rise to much litigation in the insurance industry.  More

Trade mark Application Requirements

Requirements & useful information; filing in Canada; mark made known in Canada; other types of marks.  More

Case Comment: Fidler v. Sun Life Assurance Co. of Canada

On May 17, 2004, BC's Court of Appeal made a substantial punitive damages award against the insurance company, Sun Life, even though there was evidence supporting Sun Life's decision to deny disability benefits and even though its actions were not...  More

Loyalty to the insured, the insurer or both?

The Quebec Court of Appeal, in its decision of August 18, 2003 in Groupe DMR inc. v. Kansa General International Insurance Company Ltd. et al., has sent some clear signals regarding the conduct of counsel appointed by a liability insurer to take up an...  More

Multi-risk Policies and the B.C. Insurance Act: the Supreme Court Rules

The Supreme Court of Canada has brought some clarity to the confusion surrounding the application of the British Columbia Insurance Act to broad multi-peril policies. On May 1, 2003, the highest court handed down its decisions in both KP Pacific Holdings  More

Death by "Accidental Means" = "Accidental Death"

In a judgment rendered on March 21, 2003, Martin v. American International Assurance Life Co.,1 the Supreme Court of Canada has revisited the interpretation of the term death by "accidental means" in a policy of insurance.  More

Ontario Proposes to Institute Private Right of Action and Additional Liability for Continuous Disclosure Violations and to Delegate Additional Enforcement Powers to the OSC

On October 30, 2002, the Ontario government introduced Bill 198, an omnibus bill implementing various measures contained in the 2002 Budget and proposing amendments to 29 different statutes.  More

Supreme Court Restores Record-Setting $1M Punitive Damages Award Against Home Insurer

The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that a punitive damages award of $1 million against an insurer, while high, was "within the rational limits" given the reprehensible character of its bad-faith denial of its policyholder's fire insurance claim.  More

Media Highlights

Symmetry Holdings to acquire Novamerican Steel for US$582.2 million

Symmetry Holdings Inc. and Novamerican Steel Inc. announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement whereby Symmetry will acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of Novamerican for US$585.2 million, or $56 per share, in cash.  More