Good evening.

Following are the summaries for this week’s civil decisions of the Court of Appeal for Ontario.

This month we review the court's view on open ended suspension of discharge from bankruptcy and the difficulty of 'substituting' a defendant in proceedings where the relevant limitation period has expired:

Suspension of discharge from bankruptcy should not be open ended

The High Court has held that only in the most serious cases of non-co-operation should a discharge from bankruptcy be suspended otherwise than on a specified period or condition basis.

APPLICATIONS FOR LEAVE TO APPEAL DISMISSED

37268

Joseph Palazzo v. Standard Life Assurance Company of Canada

(Que.)

Civil Procedure – Appeal – Prescription

The Applicant was an employee of the Respondent from 1968 to 2009. In 1980, the Applicant began selling life insurance and investment products of the Respondent until his retirement on May 1, 2009. During his employment as a sales representative, the Applicant was paid on a commission basis only.

Hello,

In Wong v. Luu, the British Columbia Court of Appeal upheld an order requiring the production of a redacted trust ledger to the bankruptcy trustees for Luu Hung Viet Derrick (“Luu”) on the grounds that the trust ledger was not presumptively privileged and that production would not violate the bankrupt’s right to communicate in confidence with his lawyers.

Hello again for another week,

By now, most accountants are likely to have heard about, and perhaps have some familiarity with, the new “safe harbour” laws. But for those accountants who still feel unsure about their knowledge of these new provisions, the following article will help you get your head around what safe harbour means for your accounting practice.

How safe harbour fits into the existing law

The New South Wales Court of Appeal granted leave to appeal following a finding that certain documents relating to attempts to secure litigation funding were not privileged.

This week’s TGIF considers the recent decision of Hastie Group Ltd (in liq) v Moore [2016] NSWCA 305 in which the Court held that privilege attached to an expert report prepared for the purpose of obtaining litigation funding.

WHAT HAPPENED?

Can liquidators disclose legal advice to creditors without waiving privilege? Common interest privilege may assist.

Common interest privilege

Legal professional privilege protects communications between a lawyer and client created for the dominant purpose of seeking or providing legal advice or for current or anticipated litigation.

If advice is disclosed to third parties, there may be a waiver of that privilege.