It is clear that judges are prepared to award damages to those who can prove that they acquired a sexual infection from a person who knew they were a carrier and failed to be up-front about their sexual health.
Courts will look at various factors to determine whether damages are warranted, including the age of the person, the timing of other sexual relationships and any other health risks associated with the particular disease, such as the permanent nature of a herpes infection.
Plaintiffs typically feel they have a good idea of how they have been wronged by a defendant when they file a statement of claim with the court. However, as time passes and more details emerge, key aspects of the originating document may no longer line up with the known facts. Luckily, Ontario’s Rules of Civil Procedure recognize that possibility, allowing parties — in the right circumstances — to amend the pleadings to match their evolving understanding of the case.
In the recent case of South West Terminal Ltd. v. Achter Land, a Swift Current farmer was ordered to pay an agricultural business more than $82,000 for failing to deliver 87 metric tonnes of flax after Court of King’s Bench Justice Timothy Keene concluded that his thumb-up response to a texted contract was enough to constitute valid signature and acceptance of the agreement.
Judges will do all they can to prevent a lawsuit from falling at the first hurdle, but their patience has limits. When launching their legal cases, many non-lawyers picture the process ending in vindication following their day in court. In reality, only a tiny...
Although recent interest rate hikes have taken the edge off Toronto’s notoriously wild housing market, prices are still high enough that co-ownership with family or friends remains an increasingly conventional choice for prospective buyers who see no other route onto the property ladder. When co-owners fall out over a house, emotions run high and it’s often hard for them to agree on anything again. And while Ontario’s Partition Act provides a mechanism for the division and sale of a property, litigants (and their counsel) are often wary of pushing for a court-ordered sale until they have worked out some of the other details in dispute — such as the list price, the listing agent, or liability for outstanding property taxes and other bills associated with the home.
The Ontario Superior Court of Justice appears ready to give old-fashioned legal remedies a role to play in the most modern of litigation after a judge granted an Anton Piller Order (APO) in an alleged cryptocurrency hack that is currently gripping the province’s tech...
Cold feet can cost buyers dearly when the housing market takes a turn for the worse. Higher interest rates and economic volatility are a recipe for falling real estate prices, and difficult market conditions are already having an effect, with the Canadian Real Estate...