My first trial, still good law 30 years later
The first decade of Dianne Saxe’s professional life was devoted to energy/transportation policy and regulation, not litigation. So this week is the thirtieth anniversary of her first litigation victory: Public Trustee v. Mortimer et al. At the time, I represented the office of the Publ…
View the post titled My first trial, still good law 30 years laterLiability for recreational trails
In our December article for Municipal World, we wrote about municipal liability to cyclists for failing to maintain roads in a proper state of repair. Municipalities could similarly find themselves liable as the occupiers of recreational path systems, if the trails are not adequately maintained.
View the post titled Liability for recreational trailsHelping out in the Gambia
Our associate, Meredith James, recently returned from some pro bono guest lectures at the University of the Gambia’s Faculty of Law. She spoke to the first year torts class about environmental torts and how they might be used in local scenarios. For example, open burning of waste is a common…
View the post titled Helping out in the GambiaSmith v Inco appeal application
Kirk Baert has kindly permitted us to post his Application to the Supreme Court of Canada for leave to appeal the Ontario Court of Appeal’s decision in Smith v. Inco. This was the first environmental contamination class action in Canada tried on its merits. The Appeal Court’s dec…
View the post titled Smith v Inco appeal applicationMichaud v Sun Corp
Michaud v. Sun Corp. is a civil action that has been commenced in the Ontario Superior Court by a neighbour of the Kent Breeze Wind Farm. Unlike the Hanna and Erickson cases, which unsuccessfully attempted to prevent the permitting of wind projects, the Michaud case seeks damages and an inju…
View the post titled Michaud v Sun CorpEnvironmental causes of action
The recent Court of Appeal decision in Smith v Inco is requiring Canadian environmental lawyers to carefully rethink environmental causes of action–who can sue who for what? How can Smith v. Inco be reconciled with St. Lawrence Cement v. Barrette? (Different type of nuisance). Why can non-to…
View the post titled Environmental causes of actionEscheat is very popular
One of the popular ways of dealing with contaminated sites that are “underwater” i.e. where the economic value of the property does not justify remediation, is to abandon it by letting it escheat to the Crown. Escheat happens when a corporation is dissolved, leaving no one to receive its …
View the post titled Escheat is very popularLawsuit for noise and odour
Noise and odour are frequent sources of neighbourhood disputes. Sometimes those disputes can be resolved by turning to regulators, such as the Ministry of the Environment or municipal bylaw enforcement officers. Often, however, that isn’t enough. Some then turn to the courts.
View the post titled Lawsuit for noise and odourNuisance, GHG and climate change
Today, the US Supreme Court reversed the groundbreaking decision, Connecticut v. American Power, which had allowed states, New York City and private land trusts to sue major greenhouse gas producers in nuisance, whether or not their emissions breached federal statute law.
View the post titled Nuisance, GHG and climate changeSLAPP Panel recommends anti-SLAPP law
The Ministry of the Attorney General has published the report of the Anti-SLAPP Advisory Panel. The report is on the Ministry’s web site at: http://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/english/anti_slapp/anti_slapp_final_report_en.pdf. The panel adopted most of the Ontario Bar Association recom…
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