The employee vs. independent contractor classification is an ongoing issue that underlies employment law disputes. This is because employees are afforded greater protections by law under the Employment Standards Act, including reasonable notice or pay in lieu of notice upon termination. Independent contractors are not entitled to the same rights, unless these terms were specifically…
During a real estate transaction, when buying a residential property, purchasers often decide to obtain an optional home inspection to satisfy themselves of the property’s condition and to avoid unpleasant surprises. The job of a home inspector involves looking for visual signs that a home needs repairs or upgrading – for instance, by noting signs…
Often times, in the event of a failure to close in a real estate transaction, liability can turn on tendering. In essence, tendering serves as evidence of a party’s readiness, willingness and ability to close. Put differently, where a real estate transaction falls through, the party claiming repudiation of the contract can use their tendering…
Where a borrower does not take any action as the mortgage term approaches its maturity date and the balance has yet to be paid, the mortgage may either renew automatically or go into arrears. In order for a mortgage to be renewed automatically, (i) the lender must be willing to renew; and (ii) the borrower…
Academic misconduct may be construed as any behaviour, intentional or otherwise, that gives a student (or assists another student) in attaining an unearned or unfair advantage in academic work over other students. Examples of academic misconduct where students may find themselves before the university’s disciplinary review board may include: Disciplinary procedures within an academic institution…
Where an employee is wrongfully dismissed, they have an obligation to mitigate their losses by finding comparable employment. The Ontario Court of Appeal provided further insight into what this duty entails in the decision of Merida Lake v La Presse Inc (2022). In that case, a 52-year-old employee had worked for a French language newspaper…
An employer has an obligation not to prevent an employee from claiming coverage to disability benefits. In Egan v Alcatel Canada Inc (2006), the employee was denied long term disability benefits as her employer had cancelled her insurance coverage prior to the expiration of the reasonable notice period. The trial judge had held that, given…
What are an insurance company’s obligations when handling their client’s claims? For one, an insurance company has a duty of good faith, which amounts to acting fairly and promptly in investigating and assessing the claim, as well as in deciding whether or not to pay the claim. There is no hard or fast rule, but…
The Construction Act protects the supply of goods and services within a construction contract pyramid through liens, which arise as soon as there is a contract for work in bettering land. The Act applies when the following events occurred after July 1, 2018: the prime contract was entered into; the procurement process for the improvement…
An agreement of purchase and sale is a binding contract. However, in many instances, a purchaser may be unable to close on the agreement and will be forced to default. These reasons may include lack of financing, or falling market prices that it had not accounted for. When a buyer fails to close, they are…