Civil litigation refers to the process of bringing a non-criminal matter to resolution through the courts or other adjudicative forums, including all steps from the initial advice to the client through to the enforcement of a judgment. It includes representing clients in court and out of court in negotiations.
A recent case dealt another blow to the utility of “saving clauses” to rectify drafting errors in employment contracts. The Court in Groves v. UTS Consultants Inc. found a clause ostensibly supplanting the employee’s right to reasonable notice of termination was unenforceable and the intention to contract out of the common law was not salvaged … Read more
Another Alberta wrongful dismissal case will be of interest to employment law and HR geeks seeking to hone their internal reasonable notice gauges. This post summarizes the Bardal Factors, confirms the reasonable notice period, and sets out some points of interest from the judgment in Hickaway v Riddell Kurczaba Architecture Engineering Interior Design Ltd. SUMMARY … Read more
Using independent contractors instead of employees can be a high stakes game. A recent case was doubtless a nail-biter for one employer, which narrowly avoided an expensive tax bill. MWW Enterprises Inc. v. M.N.R. provides a nice example of how courts approach the distinction between independent contractors and employees in tough cases. This article summarizes … Read more
Companies generally don’t want to pay their dismissed employees bonuses that accrue after the termination date. But drafting policies to achieve that is easier said than done. The recent Ontario Court of Appeal decision Dawe v The Equitable Life Insurance Company of Canada, 2019 ONCA 512, provides an important example of a policy that was … Read more