As is widely understood, limitation periods generally aim to strike the appropriate balance between an aggrieved party’s right to seek redress and a potential defendant’s right not to remain under the cloud of litigation indefinitely or to answer for a wrong where it has become difficult, if not impossible, to…

This paper will address a number of cases that have considered the Variation of Trusts (the “Act”). It is not hyperbole to state that there is a plethora of variation of trust cases. However, the cases chosen are either leading cases in the area or cases that show a unique…

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…

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…