On Costs in Estate Litigation
Parties should be increasingly aware of the changed mood in our courts regarding the awarding of costs in estate litigation. The general rule has been that estate litigation operates subject to the general costs regime set out in s. 131 of the Courts of Justice Act and rule 57 of the Rules of Civil Procedure, […]
On Affidavits in Support
Our courts are becoming increasingly frustrated with the filing of affidavit evidence in support of a position that is taken by a lawyer and is possibly inadmissible but clearly not probative on the matter at issue. For a recent, mildly hilarious but clearly offensive example of this seeFarooq v. Hopkins http://canlii.ca/t/hthh4 . Here is a taste: “There are […]
Participant Expert Opinion Evidence
Westerhof (Westerhof v. Gee Estate, 2015 ONCA 206, confirmed the reach and extent of expert opinion from a participant expert, who is afforded an exemption from r. 53.03. That exemption is however lost to the extent the expert’s opinion is not based on the expert’s observation of or participation in the relevant events and not […]
On Expert Opinion Evidence
In recent years judges have in their gatekeeping role become increasingly careful about whether they need an expert’s opinion, and the use and admissibility of expert opinion has been tightened. Is the evidence of value to the court? However, once you have an expert the real point is what you do with them. Your task […]
