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Articles
Gotcha Enforcement: Securities Regulators Gone
Wild
by
Martin Rosenbaum, B.Com., B.C.L., LL.B. & Vanessa Ibe
A recent decision of the Ontario Securities
Commission highlighted an unfair practice used by the Commission and
other regulators – the so-called "gotcha enforcement." Simply put,
by this tactic regulators have laid charges against unsuspecting
individuals, lawyers and corporations for violating the regulator's
unannounced interpretation of a broad general law irrespective of
whether or not that interpretation is sustainable or accepted as
law. In the case of Advanced Information Technologies (AiT)
and Deborah Weinstein, a director and legal counsel for AiT, charges
were laid against the company, Weinstein and Jude Ashe, the chief
executive of AiT, for allegedly violating the material change
disclosure requirements of the Ontario Securities Act. AiT and Ashe
settled the charges out of court. However, Weinstein fought on.
Read the entire article.
Security for Costs: Friend or Foe
by
Martin Rosenbaum, B.Com., B.C.L., LL.B.
In Ontario, an unsuccessful party in a lawsuit is generally ordered
to pay a portion of the successful party's legal expenses. In cases
where a claimant is outside Ontario, the Courts in Ontario are
concerned that in the event that the claimant is not successful in
the lawsuit, there will be no money available in Ontario to pay
towards the winner's legal fees. Accordingly, the Courts in Ontario
may order the out of province claimant to deposit with the Court
money or other acceptable liquid assets to stand as security for
costs. Read the
entire article.
NEGOTIATION AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION
by
Martin Rosenbaum, B.Com., B.C.L., LL.B
In addition to our regular services, we offer structured negotiation
and conflict resolution services. Most disputes headed to litigation
or already in litigation, could be resolved much earlier and at less
cost if the negotiation and conflict management were approached in a
specific disciplined manner. Many business negotiations could
proceed much more efficiently and effectively if the negotiations
were approached in a systematic way. In both situations
relationships that would otherwise be destroyed or significantly
damaged could be salvaged, maintained or improved.
Read the entire
article.
MITIGATION: Turning a Job Loss into a Gain
by Martin Rosenbaum, B.Com., B.C.L., LL.B.
An employee terminated from his
or her employment has a positive obligation to mitigate damages even
if he or she has a valid claim for wrongful dismissal. This means
that a terminated employee is obligated to make reasonable attempts
to find a similar job to the one that was lost. A terminated
employee should look for a position requiring similar skills, at a
similar status and similar salary to the job that was lost. While it
may not be possible to find exactly the same type of position at
exactly the same salary, efforts must still be made to find
something similar. This rule applies to all forms of wrongful
dismissal, including, constructive dismissal and discriminatory
dismissal. Read the entire
article.
ELECTRONIC DOCUMENT
PRESERVATION FOR LAWSUITS
E-Discovery Obligations
by Martin Rosenbaum, B.Com., B.C.L., LL.B.
As soon as litigation is
contemplated or threatened, it is essential for all parties and
their counsel to go beyond paper file searching, and consider what
electronic data and information exists that may need to be
disclosed. Rules of Court generally require all parties to
litigation to disclose to the other parties all relevant documents,
whether the documents are helpful or hurtful to any particular
party. Relevance is the test for disclosure. There are a limited
number of exemptions to this rule.
Read the entire article.
Commercial List User's Committee:
An Update from the Best Practices Subcommittee
by
Martin Rosenbaum, B.Com., B.C.L., LL.B.
The Commercial List is a specialized Commercial Court within the
Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Toronto restricted to
commercial and insolvency matters. The Commercial List Users'
Committee is a committee made up of members of the bench who sit on
the Commercial List from time to time, members of the bar who
practice regularly before that court nominated by relevant Bar
organizations and representatives of the Court administration. The
Commercial List Users' Committee meets regularly to consider
improvements to the operations and organization of this specialized
court. The Users' Committee makes recommendations to the Regional
Senior Justice and the Chief Justice of the Ontario Superior Court
of Justice.
Read the
entire article.
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