musings from a new legal apparatus.
Pleadings function to include written statements of the parties to an action, served by each party in turn on the
other, and filed in court, which set forth in a summary form the material facts on which each party relies in support of the claim or defence, as the case may be.
By the time the pleadings are closed, there will be a precise definition of the issues between the parties.
There are 3 fundamental principles of pleading:
Continue reading “Pleading in Civil Action in Canada”
Regulatory offences: Some offences utilize the machinery of criminal law, but are not truly considered to be criminal offences. These offences deal with everyday civil matters such as traffic infractions, pollution, hunting regulations, and so forth. Besides the supremely important fault requirement (discussed below), there are a number of ways to identify a “regulatory offence” from a “true crime”:
1. true crimes are usually more socially and morally condemned than regulatory offences.
2. regulatory offences are usually aimed at deterring harm to the public, rather than the individual.
3. regulatory offences are often part of a complex regulatory framework.
4. regulatory offences are not in the Criminal Code (R. v Wholesale Travel, 1993).
If you’ve ever been injured in an accident such as a motor vehicle, then you may be seeking compensation for damages. Damages to your car is one thing, but to your body is quite another. Soft tissue damage is unseen (another blog post) and can be a prolonged injury.
Some believe keeping an injury diary is a good way to keep track of the increasing severity of their injury overtime. This may sound like a good idea at the outset, but it turns out to work against the injured. Here’s why. Continue reading “Keeping an Injury Diary”
Confidential employees are excluded from collective bargaining because they might be able to give the union access to matters that the employers do not wish them to know about such as bargaing strategy, grievances, etc. (Canadian Union of Bank Employees v. Nova Scotia). That being said, confidential employees will only be excluded if there is a demonstrated conflict of interest (see test).
Alberta’s New Care‑First No‑Fault Auto‑Insurance Model Coming Soon
In a major reform, Alberta is replacing the traditional tort-based auto‑insurance system with a Care‑First no-fault model, slated to take effect on January 1, 2027. (Alberta.ca )
The change is purported to deliver faster compensation and more comprehensive medical care, yet comes at the cost of significantly limiting Albertans’ rights to sue at-fault parties for injuries.
Continue reading “Alberta, Canada moves to no-fault insurance in January 2027”
When someone leaves you some cash, land, a turtle, behind in their will, who is on the hook for any outstanding debts?
It goes without saying, nowadays there are fewer and fewer people retiring with a mound of cash. Some of our elderly folks need to work well into their seventies, and even then they’ll end up racking up debt to stay afloat.
In a will a Executor is appointed over the estate to divvy everything up. But what happens when you have more debts than assets? Continue reading “On the Hook for Debts of an Estate?”
The Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA) was originally passed as anti-piracy statute back in the 1800s. However, it came back to prominence in the 1980s. The -act states that if you are a non-US citizen your claim can be heard in a federal court, but your claim has to vis either a violation of treaty or a violation of custom.
Continue reading “Customary International Law in US litigation under the Alien Tort Claims Act”
Here are some introductory points on the tort of negligence.
The Elements of a Negligence Action –
Remember, the plaintiff usually has the burden of proving the first five, while the defendant has the burden of proving the sixth.
1. Duty of Care (limiting step) – there are policy considerations that can lead to the finding and non finding of a duty of care; this duty of care exists when it is reasonably foreseeable that your actions will have an effect on another person.
2. Standard of Care and its Breach – in most (but not all) negligence actions, the standard of care is the reasonable person standard .
3. Causation – has the breach of the duty of care caused an injury to the plaintiff? But for the breach of the duty of care, would the injury have occurred?
4. Remoteness of Damages (limiting step) – also called legal causation; if the damages are found to be too remote from the breach of the standard of care, then the plaintiff will not win the case.
5. Actual Loss – without loss, the plaintiff will not be successful (as opposed to intentional torts)
6. Defences – voluntary assumption of risk, illegality
Is it true that you are entitled to certain insurance benefits from your own insurer, regardless of who was at fault? It’s true, in Canada these benefits are often called ‘Section B benefits’. However, insurers like to erroneously inform injured clients that they will only ‘authorize’ 21 treatments (of various kinds). This is not true. Continue reading “Limiting Your Treatments after Injury”
Most injury lawyers will work on an agreement that they’ll be paid out of the settlement you receive. That means they’ll work for free. Kind of. Sometimes payments, especially those that go on for a long period of time, will amount to 40-50% of your settlement. The total value is dependent on how complex and long your case is.
It can amount to a lot of cash tomorrow, but generally this is the only way one can afford representation.
Continue reading “How Much Should You Pay for an Injury Attorney?”