Further to our blogs (Part I, Part II, and Part III) on Ontario’s Commercial Mediation Act, 2010, S.O. 2010, c. 16, Sched. 3 (the “Act”), where we provided an outline of the various sections of the Act, this blog endeavours to neutrally highlight some, but not all, of the major differences between the Act and some of the popular institutional mediation rules. In particular, we contrast the Act with the following institutional mediation rules: ADRIC National Mediation Rules, ICC Mediation Rules, WIPO Mediation Rules, and LCIA Mediation Rules (collectively the “Rules”). This blog does not attempt to outline any of the similarities between the Act and the Rules, though some similarities may surface within the blog nonetheless. Rather, this blog serves only to impartially outline differences between the Act and the Rules. Application The Act applies automatically to any mediation of a commercial dispute, subject to a number of exceptions … Read More
Three Things To Know About Separation Agreements
Separation agreements are legal contracts created by two spouses, after separation. Separation agreements set out each spouse’s rights and obligations on issues such as parenting, finances, property, and support. Both married spouses and common-law spouses can enter into a separation agreement. Separation Agreements are Faster and More Economical Than Going to Court Traditional court litigation can be time-consuming and expensive. It can take years to reach a resolution in court. With litigation, the courts decide when and how a matter moves forward. Even at the best of times, many courts have a large backlog. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the courts have an even larger backlog. The court process is also expensive, and the costs are unpredictable. When negotiating a separation agreement outside of court, parties get to decide the pace and are in more control of the costs. Issues to Address in a Separation Agreement Separating spouses … Read More
Online Defamation and Use of Pseudonyms
Online Defamation (“Cyber Libel”) Many of our defamation matters come from the internet. These cases take many forms, from defamatory articles, to social media posts, to negative reviews of a business or person. Courts have recognized that online defamation or “cyber libel” is far more perverse than other forms of defamation. This is because internet users can reach the global population within seconds by publishing defamatory remarks about an individual or a business. As such, cyber libel can be significantly more damaging to a person’s business and/or reputation than other forms of defamation. Posting via Online Pseudonyms Some individuals go so far as to create aliases to post malicious and defamatory comments about others on the internet. In Ontario, you can sue an anonymous defamer by naming them as “John Doe” and/or “Jane Doe” in your claim against them. There are methods to determine the identity of these anonymous defamers, … Read More
Toronto Defamation Lawyers – Libel and Slander Law in Ontario
Defamation is the tort of false publication (whether written or oral). Typically, a publication which tends to lower a person’s reputation in the opinion of reasonable members of society, or to expose a person to hatred, contempt or ridicule, is defamatory and will attract liability. The major piece of legislation governing the law of defamation in Ontario is the Libel and Slander Act. According to the Act, you can be defamed in two ways: via either (1) Libel and/or (2) Slander. What is Libel? Defamatory communications may be by words, pictures, sounds, or other forms of communication. They may be published on the internet, in social media postings, on websites, online reviews, chat rooms, or in other forms of broadcast. The dissemination of such defamatory comments or communications to the public is libelous. What is Slander? Slander is the public utterance of words that are meant to disparage a person … Read More
Is it a Gift or a Loan?
Have you loaned money to a friend or relative who now refuses to repay you and alleges that the loan was actually a gift? Or are you on the other side of this problem wherein your friend or relative gifted you a sum of money a while ago but is now demanding repayment? These issues come up most often in the private sphere where parties to a transaction do not habitually document all of their ventures. Nevertheless, verbal loan or gift agreements of this sort are still enforceable. Litigation involving a disagreement about whether a transaction was a loan or a gift is typically commenced by the transferor (i.e. the person who has transferred the funds) who claims that the transfer was a loan and not a gift. If you require assistance in either commencing such a claim in the Superior Court of Justice or defending against same, we have … Read More
Toronto Lawyers for Mortgage Defaults – Assessing your Bank’s Bill
Once a mortgage has been defaulted on, banks and other mortgage lenders will often charge mortgagors (you-the borrower and their customer) exorbitant and excessive fees, whether it be intentional or not. Time and again, we have seen these fees levied at exponentially greater amounts than lenders are reasonably entitled to charge under the circumstances. The charging of such unreasonably high fees has not been viewed favourably by the courts. In the midst of Covid-19 related complications and with other financial difficulties remaining on the horizon, many property owners have been unable to continue to pay their mortgages on a consistent basis. One difficulty that presents itself for home owners in this type of situation is the ability of their mortgage lenders to sell their properties via “power of sale” proceedings. A power of sale is meant to pay off secured mortgage lenders for the amount that they are owed under … Read More
COVID-19 / Coronavirus: The Ontario Superior Court of Justice Expects to Further Expand the Scope of Matters to be Heard Virtually
On May 5, 2020, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice issued a Notice to the Profession, Litigants, Accused Persons and the Media advising of the Continued Suspension of in-court matters to July 6, 2020. This Notice further advised the Superior Court will continue to hear matters virtually and expects to shortly further expand the scope of matters that will be heard virtually. On March 15, 2020, the Chief Justice of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice released a Notice to the Profession advising that all scheduled family law hearings were adjourned until further notice. However, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice continued to hear urgent family law matters such as: requests for urgent relief relating to the safety of a child or parent (e.g., a restraining order, other restrictions on contact between the parties or a party and a child, or exclusive possession of the home); urgent issues that must … Read More