Insurance
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June 17, 2025
Ontario judge denies bid to delay COVID insurance class action until Handley Estates issue decided
With a significant legal issue for Canadian class-action litigation hanging in the balance, an Ontario Superior Court judge has declined to delay a $20-million class action launched by denturists against their insurance brokerage and Aviva Insurance over its alleged failure to honour business interruption insurance claims related to COVID-19 pandemic closures.
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June 16, 2025
Insurance Bureau says unchecked increase in litigation funding could drive up insurance costs
The Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) is calling for restrictions on litigation funding on the basis that it is being used as an investment tool that uses the court system to generate profits for large financial firms.
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June 16, 2025
Ontario judge allows health services board to intervene in private clinic's $290K repayment appeal
The Ontario Superior Court of Justice has allowed the Health Services Appeal and Review Board to intervene in an appeal of its own decision requiring a private health facility to repay more than $290,000 to the Ministry of Health.
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June 13, 2025
Injury law in the digital age: Embracing new tools and technologies
From wearable devices that track health in real-time to AI summarizing dense legal contracts in plain language, injury law is being transformed by technology. Courts increasingly admit digital evidence, meaning injury law faces unprecedented opportunities and ethical pitfalls. As a result, lawyers who fail to adapt risk leaving clients at a disadvantage.
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June 12, 2025
Court approves $1.65M settlement of action against solicitors over failed syndicated mortgage loans
The Ontario Superior Court of Justice has approved a $1.65-million settlement of a class action against solicitors who provided legal services for syndicated mortgage loans (SML) that went into default, causing investors to lose most of their money.
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June 12, 2025
Reducing CRR burden: Keep ‘relevance’ as standard, reduce judge-presided conferences
The Civil Rules Review Phase 2 (CRR) report mandates judicial case conferences in two forms: directions conferences and scheduling conferences. In addition, it proposes a completely new standard for productions while removing discovery, which is a cornerstone for ensuring necessary and adequate production. The CRR proposes a new production standard: production of “reliance” and “adverse” documents rather than keeping the current standard of relevance. The net result will be more ambiguity as to which documents are proper productions, and given the absence of discovery, a greater need to obtain full production of all “reliance” and all “adverse” documents.
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June 11, 2025
Nova Scotia Court of Appeal allows amendments in insurance case involving collapsed crane
The Nova Scotia Court of Appeal has allowed contractors to amend their defences after learning about an existing policy in an insurance case where a crane fell during a hurricane.
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June 11, 2025
Judicial scarcity and Civil Rules Review: We can’t get there from here without more judges
The Civil Rules Review Phase 2 (CRR) states: “There is consensus that the problem of access to timely and affordable civil justice has only gotten worse since Hryniak, particularly following the Supreme Court’s decision in R. v. Jordan” (Hryniak v. Mauldin, [2014] 1 S.C.R. 87; R. v. Jordan, [2016] 1 S.C.R. 631).
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June 10, 2025
Canada’s top judge declares ‘in this country, the rule of law is non-negotiable’
Lawyers, as officers of the court, have a professional “responsibility and obligation” to defend the rule of law and the independence of the bar and judiciary against attacks, Chief Justice of Canada Richard Wagner said at his annual news conference in Ottawa.
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June 06, 2025
PM Carney appoints parliamentary secretaries to support lawyer-rich cabinet & PMO
Prime Minister Mark Carney has tapped a number of lawyers to assist the many lawyers he has already appointed to key cabinet posts.