Legal Papers
Trustee Liability: When Will A Trustee Be Excused
When errors by a trustee cause losses to a trust, the question arises as to who should be forced to bear the weight of those losses: the beneficiaries or the trustees? On the one hand, it seems unfair that a beneficiary should lose because of the mistakes of someone who is in charge of administering…read more
Rose v. Rose – A Family Tragedy
Rose v. Rose is a recent Ontario case that deals with marriage breakdown, disillusioned children, and the finality of an irrevocable trust. Brian and Janice were married and had two daughters. In 1992, Brian and Janice transferred a ski chalet and cottage into trust for the benefit of their daughters. Brian was the trustee for…read more
Security for Costs Motion
Motions for security for costs provide a means for a defendant to ensure, before litigation proceeds too far, that there is a fund of money in place to pay the defendant’s costs, should the defendant be entitled to costs. By forcing the plaintiff to pay money into court, a security for costs motion acts as…read more
The Real Cost of Litigating
McDougald Estate v. Gooderham (2005), 17 E.T.R. (3d) 36, 255 D.L.R. (4th) 435 (ON CA) represented the end of the era of estates being used as “ATM machines” out of which litigants could recover their full legal fees. In this foundational case, the Court of Appeal for Ontario held that, just like all other civil litigation, the…read more