The Ontario Court of Appeal’s recent decision in Moore v. Getahun has wide-ranging implications across Canada for all parties who engage experts. We anticipate the decision being followed in Nova Scotia. It holds that while impartiality of experts is of critical importance in litigation, this does not require a ban on communication between experts and the lawyers who retain them.
In fact, lawyers play an important role in assisting experts to deliver a report that is intelligible and responsi...
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Does the front end know what the back end’s doing?
You probably won’t hear a lot of insurance defence lawyers saying this, but we have a lot in common with farmers.
We tend to reap what we sow.
We don’t do it for the glamour.
And you might say that we get to see the back end of a lot of claims, as well as the “products of digestion” through the judicial system.
Many times, we see files where unfortunate policy wordings, indifferent investigation, or stubborn resistance to obvious truths, have derailed the makings of a good defenc...
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C3 News: Press Release
C3 Legal is pleased to announce that Franco Tarulli has joined the firm. Franco has 18 years’ experience and has been admitted to the Bars of Alberta, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. A seasoned trial lawyer, Franco speaks three languages and has appeared before numerous courts and tribunals. Franco will be a welcome addition to our insurance litigation practice and will complement our forward-thinking approach
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C3 Legal’s Nancy Murray named in “Best Lawyers in Canada 2015”
C3 Legal is delighted to announce that Nancy Murray has been selected by her peers in the legal community for inclusion in the 2015 edition of “Best Lawyers in Canada” for Corporate and Commercial Litigation, Insurance Law, Personal Injury Litigation, and Product Liability Law.
We are proud to have Nancy as a colleague and glad to see her receive this richly-deserved recognition.
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Hold That Claim
The Small Claims Court of Nova Scotia recently had reason to consider the new s. 138A of the Insurance Act, which came in force on April 1, 2013. That section allows for direct compensation from an insured’s own insurer for property damage in a no-fault manner. In the case of MacCallum v. Gamache, the adjudicator held that the Claimant, who had sustained damage to her vehicle in a minor collision and who did not have collision insurance, could not simply pursue the Defendant but had to follo...
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Unexpected Things Learned From Dragons’ Den: Waivers Are Real
Last week, the Supreme Court of Canada declined to hear the appeal of a Montreal lawyer and his board game company. They had made an unsuccessful pitch on the CBC’s hit show, “Dragons’ Den”, and the video footage had been narrated in a manner that the plaintiff alleged was “gross and reckless negligence, intentional misconduct, malice, and bad faith.”
Prior to the dismissal of the application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada, the Ontario Court of Appealin MHR Board Game Desi...
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More Than Just Snow Falling
Although it’s only the beginning of January, Nova Scotia has seen the whole spectrum of winter weather – snow, sleet, rain, freezing rain, and ice – a whole lot of ice. With ice (and even hard-packed snow) comes slip and falls. After one particularly bad patch of icy weather in December, the emergency rooms within the Halifax Regional Municipality reported 93 cases of slip and fall injuries (source: “Sidewalk of Shame” by Tim Bousquet atwww.thecoast.ca)
Regardless of footwear, there’s always ...
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CASE COMMENT: Hernandez v. Purcell, 2013 NSSC 303
This recent decision of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court provided timely guidance to the Board of Examiners in Psychology as well as to litigants in two matters involving a similar issue of disclosure of raw psychological test data. The two personal injury cases both involved allegations of psychological sequelae and the Defendants had requested provision of raw test data as part of the Plaintiff’s disclosure.
The two psychologists responded to the disclosure requests by supplying the raw data to ...
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CASE COMMENT: MacAulay v. Ali 2013 NSSC 271
The Nova Scotia Supreme Court recently released this decision on an unsuccessful summary judgment motion. The motion was brought by a defendant in a personal injury claim involving a Metro Transit passenger who alleged injuries suffered during a collision with the defendant’s vehicle.
The decision raises questions as to the admissibility of evidence often traditionally attached to affidavits of administrative personnel (whether insurance adjusters or paralegals) who have no personal kno...
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CASE COMMENT: Burton Canada Co. v. Coady et al, 2013 NSCA 95
On August 30th, the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal released its 4-1 decision upholding the right of a young plaintiff to sue the owner of a ski resort where he sustained injuries that left him paralyzed, as well as the snowboard manufacturer which was offering free rides on their products (along with free samples of high-energy drinks) on the day the plaintiff fell.
The defendants had moved for summary judgment in 2011 and the decision was released 16 months later. The motions judge was of the v...
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