Legal Blog:
Exhibits
Wasylyk v. Simcoe (County) 2023 Ont CA
Expert reports, technically being hearsay, are not usually marked as exhibits; they are treated as aide memoires. However, although they may not be numbered exhibits, they should be made lettered exhibits which, although not evidence, become part of the trial record for appeal purposes. It allows an appeal panel to appreciate the arguments with the benefit of the same material that the trial judge had. This applies equally to all aide memoires, such as summaries and spreadsheets.
Continue Reading >Spoliation
Trillium Power Wind Corporation v. Ontario 2023 Ont CA
Spoliation arises out of the destruction of potentially relevant evidence. It occurs when a party intentionally destroys evidence relevant to ongoing or contemplated litigation in circumstances where a reasonable inference can be drawn that the evidence was destroyed to affect the litigation. It is not yet a self-standing cause of action; rather, it is a rule of evidence giving rise to a rebuttable presumption that the destroyed evidence would have been unfavourable to the party who destroyed it. In this case, Ontario government employees deliberately destroyed relevant evidence, but that evidence would not have affected the results in the action. Since spoliation is an abuse of process, the court denied Ontario its costs on the summary judgment motion in which it was successful and granted the appellant’s costs for the appeal.
Continue Reading >Litigation Privilege
Joffe v. Budds’ BMW 2023 Ont SCJ (Div Ct)
If a party on discovery is asked for facts contained in his or her file relating either to his own case or to that of his opponent, he or she must disclose the relevant facts contained in any statement notwithstanding that the source of information is a privileged report or document. Conversely, the party does not have to produce the document itself.
Continue Reading >Allison Speigel and Krystyne Rusek Serve on the OBA Executive
Speigel Nichols Fox LLP would like to congratulate Allison Speigel and Krystyne Rusek who will serve the Ontario Bar Association in various roles for the 2023-2024 year. Allison Speigel will act as the Public Affairs Liaison for the Civil Litigation Section Executive and Krystyne Rusek will act as the Technology Liaison for the Trusts and Estates Law Section Executive.
Their dedication and involvement ensure that our profession, clients, and the justice system will be better served. To learn more about the OBA please visit here: https://www.oba.org/Advocacy/About
Continue Reading >Personal Liability
On occasion, an unscrupulous principal sweet talks an unsuspecting owner into signing a construction contract with the principal’s corporation and either the principal has no intention to complete the project properly or has no ability to do so. Can the owner recover damages against the corporation and its principal and, if so, what damages? These issues were discussed in Li v. Zhu, a 2023 decision of an associate judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.
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