Relieving Car Loan Debtor Unlikely to Impact the Subprime Lending Market: MBCA

Attempt to Relitigate Discipline Issue An Abuse of Process: MBCA

In Law Society of Manitoba v. Mackinnon, 2014 MBCA 28, the Court of Appeal upheld the motion judge's decision granting summary judgment to the Law Society on its claim to recover the funds it paid to reimburse the client whose monies were misappropriated by the appellant lawyer. The court found that permitting the appellant to raise the defence that there was no misappropriation since the monies were owed to him for legal fees and transferred under colour of right would mean relitigating issues already resolved by the Discipline Committee. This "would violate the principles of judicial economy, consistency, finality and the integrity of the administration," said the court.

Accidental Typo Doesn't Amend Insurance Policy Terms: MBCA

The Court of Appeal in Olfman v. RBC Life Insurance Co., 2014 MBCA 26 agreed with the trial judge's conclusion that an employee of the defendant insurance company neither intended nor had the authority to amend the policy's "total disability" definition when he sent the insured a letter that, by reason of a typographical error, appeared to suggest that the insured would continue to receive benefits after returning to work as a lawyer provided that he was still under the care of a physician. The court also found "no reason to interfere with the judge's conclusion that there was no evidence that a promise with legal consequences was made to the appellant that the terms of policy would be varied as he claimed after he had purchased the policy."

Criteria for Judicial Review of Interlocutory Rulings

In Dorn v. Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists (Man.), 2014 MBCA 25, the court considers what circumstances justify judicial review of an interlocutory ruling (concerning statutory right of appeal) before the completion of the administrative process. Despite the parties' agreement that exceptional circumstances existed for the court to hear the interlocutory appeal, the court found "no justification to delay, or bifurcate, the administrative process..." (para. 18)

Evidence Required to Extend Limitation Period

These cases consider what evidence is required in support of a motion to extend a limitation period:

Supreme Court to Hear Payday Loans Class Action Appeal

The Supreme Court of Canada has granted leave to appeal the decision of the Manitoba Court of Appeal in the Payday Loans case. The case concerns the enforceability of national class action judgments and, as noted in this blog post, the Supreme Court's decision will likely have a significant impact on the future of national class actions in Canada.

Summary Judgment Rule Amendment

The Court of Queen's Bench has published a notice stating that Rule 20 - Summary Judgment has been amended to provide that summary judgment motions shall be heard by a judge, rather than a master, at first instance. The amendment (Manitoba regulation 54/2014) is effective June 1, 2014.

Recommended Reading

Two recent articles deal with different aspects of injunctive relief:

• The Civil Injunction Cheat Sheet≠ - this Slaw post summarizes what you need to know about court injunctions as outlined by Justice Gillese in 1711811 Ontario Ltd. (AdLine) v. Buckley Insurance Brokers Ltd., 2014 ONCA 125.

• Full stop the hard way - the author of this Lawyers Weekly article sheds light on the seldom successful quia timet injunction.  

Every Factum Needs an Excellent Overview Statement - the author of this Slaw post argues that the most important part of any factum is the overview statement and he urges lawyers to spend time polishing it. He also provides a link to Justice Laskin's classic paper on writing persuasive factums.

Spring CPD: LSM

Client Management - Instant Pain Relief! - on May 2, 2014 join Law Society of Manitoba practice management advisor Barney Christianson and experienced practitioner Scott Abel at the Victoria Inn, Brandon, for an engaging discussion of how to minimize conflicts with your clients and improve your chances of getting paid.

Early bird registration ends April 15, 2014 for three upcoming programs presented by ReelTime CLE: Wrestling with Ethical Dilemmas: "We have met the Enemy..." (May 13, 2014); "Accidental Racists"-- and other Elephants in the Room: The Impact of Subtle forms of Bias on Access to Justice (May 14, 2014); and Wellness in Reel Life: Practical Guidance on Self-Care from the Movies (May 14, 2014). Each program includes three hours of EPPM.

Civil Litigation Section Program: MBA