Misconduct in an Academic Setting

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…

Wrongful Dismissal from Employment and Mitigation

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…

Interference with Long Term Disability (LTD) Benefits

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…

The Insurance Company’s Obligations

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…

Your Buyer Can’t Close?

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…

Negligence of a Real Estate Agent

Real estate agents can be held liable for damages under the common law if they are negligent in the performance of their duties. Some examples of negligence include: Failing to point out an ambiguity in the agreement to their client; Placing themselves in a conflict of interest; Failing to obtain security for the vendor’s warranty;…

Hurt on an Airplane?

Have you been injured while taking an airplane? The airline company may be liable for damages. International law dictates that, depending on where the airplane was at the time of your injury, a different test applies to establish liability. If you were on a domestic flight, negligence must be established under common law principles. Essentially,…

Have You Been Defrauded?

Door-to-door scams have been on the rise in Ontario, according to data from the Canada Anti-Fraud Agency and the FSRA. These occur where a representative, generally from an unknown company, attends an individual’s home unsolicited. These representatives target vulnerable populations and compel them to sign agreements that are highly one-sided, but are falsely held out…

What is Wrongful Dismissal?

Wrongful dismissal occurs where an employee is terminated without just cause, and without reasonable notice. An entitlement to reasonable notice is implied in all contracts of employment. If an employee was wrongfully terminated, they may have claim for the amount of reasonable notice. This is assessed based on the following factors: the character of their…