Civil Litigation
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August 01, 2025
Contractual limitation period inapplicable as referee decision arrived after deadline, court rules
The Ontario Court of Appeal has overturned a lower court decision that barred Ontario from challenging a referee’s award in a highway contract dispute, ruling the contractual limitation period did not apply as the referee decision was released after it had expired.
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August 01, 2025
Court finds Toronto bike lane removal law breaches Charter rights
The Ontario Superior Court of Justice has allowed an application finding that the provincial government’s provisions to reduce gridlock by removing bicycle lanes was contrary to s. 7 of the Charter.
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August 01, 2025
Claudette van Zyl Joins Woods
Woods has welcomed Claudette van Zyl to its team.
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August 01, 2025
Manitoba court clarifies proof standards for will challenges
For a will to be recognized as valid, the testator must have known and approved of its contents. Typically, knowledge and approval are presumed when a will is submitted for probate, provided it was duly executed.
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August 01, 2025
Putting a contract out on contracts
I do not like entering into contracts. If I ever have to sign an agreement, the prospect checks most of the boxes for a diagnosis of PTSD. Mention the words “offer and acceptance” and I quiver. I would say I have had these sentiments since I was about 10 years old. Why, you ask?
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August 01, 2025
Canada faces 35% U.S. tariffs as trade tensions escalate, putting focus on CUSMA compliance
Canadian political and business leaders are charting divergent strategies to navigate the new reality of 35 per cent U.S. tariffs on goods not compliant with the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), with responses ranging from calls for economic sovereignty to urgent pleas for small business relief.
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August 01, 2025
Court: NOVA must operate joint ethylene plant with Dow, despite removal of exclusivity clause
An Alberta court has ordered NOVA Chemicals to continue supplying ethane to, and operating, an ethylene plant it co-owns with Dow Chemical, even though contract provisions barring Dow from independently sourcing ethane in the region have been found to be illegal under competition law.
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August 01, 2025
Rectification not a safety net: A post-Pyxis reminder on drafting discipline, due diligence
“Wait — we’ll just fix it with a rectification order, right?” That line, often said too casually in the back-and-forth between corporate clients, tax advisers and counsel, was exactly what made me revisit the Pyxis Real Estate Equities Inc. v. Canada (Attorney General), 2025 ONCA 65 decision.
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July 31, 2025
SCC rules Ontario court lacks jurisdiction over Ont. man’s tort claims against Italian defendants
In an important private international law judgment on the jurisdiction of Canadian courts over tort claims involving foreign defendants, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled 5-4 that an Ontario court does not have jurisdiction to determine tort claims launched against three Italian companies by an Ontario resident injured on a holiday in Venice. On July 31, 2025, Justice Suzanne Côté, writing for the top court’s majority, dismissed the appeal of injured plaintiff Duncan Sinclair and his spouse, Michelle Sinclair, from a 2023 Ontario Court of Appeal decision that stayed the plaintiffs’ Ontario Superior Court damages claims, for lack of jurisdiction: Sinclair v. Venezia Turismo, 2025 SCC 27.
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July 31, 2025
Small and medium banks failed to meet federal complaint handling standards, FCAC review finds
Canada’s consumer banking watchdog has found significant compliance failures among small and medium-sized banks in meeting federally mandated complaint handling requirements introduced under its Financial Consumer Protection Framework.