Ms. Ashlee Barber, acted for the Defendant Summary Judgment Motion brought by the Plaintiff. The Plaintiff claimed entitlement to an unpaid bonus which his employer, the Defendant, refused to pay on the grounds that the Plaintiff forfeited his entitlement to the bonus payment when he resigned his job. The Court found that the Plaintiff was aware of the active employment clause for the payment of the bonus, and that the clause was clear and unambiguous. The Court also found that the active employment clause complied with the Employment Standards Act. The Plaintiff’s case was dismissed. Ms. Barber was successful in responding to the Plaintiff's appeal.
Eric Williams successfully represented the defendant solicitor and law firm (John T. Clark, Clarks), against claims of breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and negligence, who advised a client on the application of the Planning Act and the Residential Complex Sales Representation Act to the construction of a 50 unit life lease housing complex.
In Ugarrit Inc. v. Pooran, 2013 ONSC 6713, the plaintiffs unsuccessfully moved to add two lawyers as party defendants to an existing negligence action, which arose from a fire loss claim that had become statute barred. Ms. Barber represented one of the two lawyers, successfully arguing that the lawyer was never retained to advance a fire loss claim. The motion against both lawyers was dismissed.
Eric Williams and Kelly Hart successfully defended a solicitor at trial involving a scope of retainer dispute. The court confirmed that any duty to a client is limited to the scope of the retainer. A “limited retainer” describes circumstances such as where a solicitor is conducting a real estate transaction without search of title and advises the client that the work being done is less than usual.
This is differentiated from this case where the solicitor was retained for a disability claim and advised the client orally of other potential claims. While the solicitor orally confirmed his non-retainer on the other claims, he did not put this in explicitly in writing. This was not a case of limited retainer, and the failure to send a letter of non-retainer was not a breach of the standard of care. The trial decision was upheld at the Court of Appeal.
Eric Williams successfully represented a number of applicants in the breakup of a legal partnership. A key issue in the dispute was the suitability of having the court conclude the partnership court given specific wording in the partnership agreement and the division of partnership assets.
Chris Reil successfully represented the plaintiffs in this action against a cleaning company after a break-enter-and-theft was facilitated by a former employee of the defendant. The Court held the defendant was negligent in hiring an employee with an extensive criminal record without performing a proper background check, and for failing to warn the plaintiffs after discovering her criminal background.
Chris Reil represented the landlord and obtained a summary judgment against the defaulting tenant for both arrears of rent and the present value of the future rent to the end of the term. The judgment was upheld by the Court of Appeal.
Our firm successfully represented the mortgagor on this issue of whether or not a mortgagee can declare a mortgage to be in default.
Kelly Hart successfully represented the non-profit Abiwin Co-Operative in the Federal Court of Canada where it was held that a previous settlement between the Co-Op and one of its members precluded her from raising the same complaint in a new forum.
Eric Williams successfully represented the plaintiff in a claim for damages when his helicopter crashed. The plaintiff succeeded at trial and appeal in holding both the insurer and the manufacturer liable for negligence.
