In Al-Bakkal v. de Vries et al, 2016 MBQB 45, the court granted the university’s summary judgment motion to dismiss a former dental student’s claim for damages arising from her delayed graduation (caused by the grade appeal process which took a year to complete). The court found there was no triable issue given the academic essence of the case and the required deference to the university’s appeal mechanism, and noted at para. 95 that:

where a dispute is about the grading, advancement, graduation or academic designation of a student or where the dispute focusses on the academic requirements, rules and/or regulations that the university or faculty applies to a student, a civil suit for damages is not an available remedy.

Brooks Equipment Ltd. et al. v. La Salle Credit Union Ltd. et al., 2016 MBQB 98 – the court considers the issue of privilege and schedule B documents, and, in particular, in what circumstances prejudice or unfairness to a party outweighs the protection of solicitor-client privilege.

Langevin v. The Great-West Life Assurance Company, 2016 MBQB 67 - the court rejected the plaintiff’s claim for compensation under his work group accidental death and dismemberment insurance policy for injuries to his hand sustained while operating a table saw. The court found that the injuries did not constitute a dismemberment and that the surgical reattachment provision of the AD&D policy only operates in the event of a covered loss.

The Canadian Law of Judicial Review: A Plea for Doctrinal Coherence and Consistency – in this controversial paper, published February 2016, Federal Court of Appeal Judge David Stratas proposes solutions for the doctrinal incoherence and inconsistency plaguing the Canadian law of judicial review.

Carbon Copy Class Actions Stayed for Abuse of Process – this Osler blog post discusses Hafichuk-Walkin et al v BCE Inc et al, 2016 MBCA 32, the Manitoba Court of Appeal decision confirming the unconditional stay of a duplicative class action.

Courts send a message on texting – this Lawyers Weekly article considers how Canadian civil courts are dealing with the issues relating to the production of text messages

The $50 billion reversal – an international tax evasion/shareholder arbitration dispute highlights the importance of arbitral jurisdiction, according to the author of this Lawyers Weekly article.

Pursuant to its authority to govern the entities through which lawyers provide legal services, the Law Society has been working to develop a framework for regulation that will enhance its ability to protect the public interest. The Society is considering the adoption of a compliance based or outcomes focused model and would like your input. The consultation process is open until
June 30, 2016.

Those who respond to the consultation questions before June 30th will be eligible for up to 1.5 CPD (EPPM) hours. Alternatively, to learn more about how these developments will affect you and your firm sign up for the FREE CPD online webinar, Innovating Regulation, on the Law Society cpdonline website. Webinar participants are eligible for 0.5 EPPM hours.

Judicially Assisted Dispute Resolution – What, When and Why – speakers at this joint MBA session will look at judicially assisted dispute resolution as it applies to civil, estate and family matters. The program takes place from noon to 1:30 pm on Jun. 17, 2016 at the Law Society classroom.

Small Claims Primer - speakers will highlight recent amendments to The Court of Queen’s Bench Small Claim Practices Act and QB Rule 76 and review the steps from preparing and filing a small claim to bringing the claim before a Small Claims Hearing Officer at this lunch program on June 23, 2016. This session is recommended for articling students who will be handling small claims and associates wanting a refresher.