The recent decision of the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) in Hryniak heralds a sea change in summary judgment motions in Ontario and will have a profound impact on estate litigation. Many lawyers in Ontario have long groused that the Ontario Court of Appeal (OCA) was overly restrictive in its interpretation of summary judgment rules both before […]
The recent Ontario Superior Court decision of Lamoureux v Lamoureux illustrates the care with which clients and counsel must take when submitting evidence to court. Without proper forethought, a party may unintentionally waive solicitor-client privilege. André Lamoureux brought an action against Charles Lamoureux in 2007 (unfortunately, the recent decision does not explain what the originating
In the usual litigation battle, a release operates as a “shield” in the sense that if a beneficiary sues an estate trustee, the estate trustee can use the release as a defence. In Re: Sheard, the estate trustees were able to use signed releases to preclude them from having to pass their accounts for the period
In Zerbinati v. Zerbinati 2013 CanLII 86428 (ON SC), the respondents to an application for the determination of the validity of the last will and testament of Valentino Mario Zerbinati (“Valentino”) brought a motion for “non-suit” on the grounds that the formal validity of Valentino’s Will had not been established. The applicants were the testator’s son, Valentino
Gail Evans died intestate on July 30, 1992. She was survived by her two sons from a first marriage, Richard and Donald, and by her second husband, Carlton. Carlton was the administrator (i.e. estate trustee) of Gail’s estate. The parties agreed Carlton was entitled to a preferential share of $75,000 and one third of the
