Child support disputes burgeoning
Laura Paris says courts can overrule termination language for adult child support. By Julius Melnitzer | January 5, 2023 As inflation persists and a recession hovers, disputes over child support, including its continuation past age 18, are burgeoning. “Child support, which is reviewable annually, has become a bigger issue with inflation as there’s no automatic cut-off […]
Cryptocurrency fraud remedies available but enforcement difficult in Ontario
Enforcing civil remedies for crypto fraud is at least 50 percent of the problem, says Lou Brzezinski By Julius Melnitzer | January 4, 2023 As the investment hub of one of the most crypto-obsessed countries in the world, Ontario will need appropriate legal remedies to deal with the currency’s problems, evidenced most recently by the […]
Law Society of Ontario accepts license surrender from lawyer Jerry Nesker who misused trust account
Bill Trudell says his client was trying to help a client and didn’t intend wrongdoing. By Julius Melnitzer | January 3, 2023 The Law Society Tribunal has allowed veteran Toronto lawyer Jerry Nesker to surrender his license after using his trust account to permit transfers of $150 million from abroad for purposes unrelated to the practice […]
Ottawa lawyer James Bowie, accused of sexual misconduct, suspended by LSO in unrelated proceedings
Ottawa lawyer James Bowie was suspended by the Law Society of Ontario indefinitely. By Julius Melnitzer | January 2, 2023 The Law Society of Ontario has suspended embattled Ottawa lawyer James Bowie indefinitely until he responds satisfactorily to investigators’ requests to produce books and records related to his practice. When and if he does so, the […]
OCA orders new trial for accused whose lawyer ‘conscripted him into assisting his own prosecution’
The Ontario Court of Appeal said counsel’s incompetence was ‘pervasive.’ By Julius Melnitzer | December 31, 2022 The Ontario Court of Appeal has ordered a new trial for an accused whose lawyer, Toronto’s Janice R. Johnson, a 35-year veteran of the criminal bar, “conscripted [him] into assisting his own prosecution.” The OCA’s reasons are damning. […]
Court awards 24 months’ notice to Air Canada employee terminated as part of COVID layoff
George Avraam says the high-end award is consistent with COVID-related wrongful dismissal jurisprudence. By Julius Melnitzer | December 29, 2022 In a judgment that amounts to a handbook for employers and employers involved in COVID-based terminations, the Ontario Superior Court has awarded 24 months’ notice to an Air Canada employee with 23.5 years’ service laid […]
OCA refuses to extend intrusion upon seclusion liability to hacked commercial database holders
Craig Lockwood says the trilogy did not diminish privacy interests By Julius Melnitzer | December 19, 2022 The lawyer for one of the plaintiffs involved in the Ontario Court of Appeal’s recent refusal to expand the tort of intrusion upon seclusion to defendants who fail to adequately protect personal information collected and stored for commercial purposes […]
Estate freeze strategies come with many potential pitfalls
David Rotfleisch says estate freezes come with pitfalls if not properly executed. By Julius Melniter | December 11, 2022 The ubiquity of estate freezes, which have long been among the flavours of the day in personal tax planning, can mask their complexity. “Estate freezes are the most basic tax planning technique for entrepreneurs and even non-entrepreneurs, […]
Employer’s prior conduct prohibits pension plan amendments, despite collective agreement terms: Ontario court
A recent Ontario Divisional Court ruling serves as a caution that employers’ prior conduct may prohibit them from amending pension plans even when the collective agreement clearly allows them to do so. “The takeaway from the decision is that employers’ discretion to amend plans will always be subject to labour law principles in cases that […]
Lawyers may ask courts to invalidate their retainer agreements: Ontario Court of Appeal
Gavin MacKenzie says the decision will not lead to lawyers bringing a “flood of applications.” By Julius Melnitzer | December 5, 2022 In a case of first impression, the Ontario Court of Appeal has been asked to strike a written retainer agreement because it was not “fair and reasonable” to the lawyer. But the court declined to […]