Canada: Civil Law

The Ontario Court of Appeal’s decision in Sheridan Retail Inc. v Roy reinforces the breadth and strength of Ontario’s anti-SLAPP framework and serves as a reminder that attempts to recast claims to avoid dismissal...

British Columbia's limitation period rules create unique exposure for corporate defendants through joinder applications. Even after the two-year limitation period expires, courts may still add new parties to existing lawsuits...

A British Columbia Supreme Court decision highlights the consequences of improperly filing builder's liens, awarding costs and damages to an owner when a contractor filed a lien claim outside the 45-day statutory deadline and against the wrong parcel of land. The ruling clarifies that liability under Section 19 of the Builders Lien Act arises from the wrongful filing itself, regardless of whether the lien was filed frivolously or vexatiously.

The Supreme Court of Canada's landmark decision in Ahluwalia v. Ahluwalia establishes a new tort of intimate partner violence, fundamentally reshaping how Canadian law addresses coercive control in relationships. This ruling moves beyond traditional incident-based torts to recognize the cumulative harm caused by patterns of abuse that erode autonomy and dignity.

For regulated health professionals, recordkeeping is not only an extremely important skill, but also a professional obligation. Recent case law demonstrates the importance of keeping good records, and specifically...

The Federal Court has applied a flexible approach for admitting new evidence in trademark appeals, allowing a registrant to introduce evidence of use that was not initially filed due to employee inadvertence.

Ontario's Court of Appeal has fundamentally reshaped how courts handle failures to disclose partial settlement agreements in multi-party litigation, replacing the automatic stay rule from Handley Estate with a flexible, discretionary framework. The new approach evaluates non-disclosure through established abuse of process principles, examining improper intent, prejudice, and impacts on judicial integrity. Will this shift from a rigid axe to a precise scalpel better balance the interests of settling and non-

Ontario's Rules of Civil Procedure now require plaintiffs to demonstrate a rational connection when choosing where to commence Superior Court actions, mirroring long-standing Small Claims Court requirements.

A Quebec Court of Appeal decision examines when contractual holdbacks cross the line from legitimate protection into abusive financing tactics. The ruling clarifies the boundaries of good faith in construction payment...