Every now and again judges have to deal with unrepresented plaintiffs. Sometimes there’s a good reason why P couldn’t find representation. That will usually make the judge’s job harder.

Consider this description of of a recent claim. The amount claimed was a 200 hundred million. There’s no indication why the plaintiff chose that figure.

The action arises from the purchase of a … refrigerator by the Plaintiff on or about September 25, 1999.

P alleges as against the defendants defective repair service, electronic surveillance by the defendants of the plaintiff, theft via Internet of his personal files, data and emails,

. . . [more]

The recently released case by Justice Guy DiTomaso in Kohl v. ING Insurance Company of Canada, 2011 ONSC 2138, discusses the ability to amend a claim while arbitration is still pending.

The Plaintiff, Roy Kohl, was involved in a car accident when his car hit a brick wall on October 18, 2005. Ian Hu of Oatley Vigmond LLP commenced an action on his behalf for accident benefits and damages for bad faith and mental distress on December 10, 2008 against his insurer, ING Insurance Company of Canada, represented by Deborah Neilson of Carroll Heyd Chown. . . . [more]

A number of Facebook users in Quebec tried to begin a class action against FB for alleged infringements on their privacy. A Quebec court has now refused certification as a class action and dismissed the case: St Arnaud c. Facebook Inc. 2011 QCCS 1506.

One ground for dismissal was that FB users sign an agreement that all disputes must be adjudicated in Santa Clara County, California.

A more interesting element of the decision was that the ‘contract’ with FB was not a consumer contract within the meaning of Quebec law, since there was no payment and no obligation on . . . [more]

The Crime Writers of canada have produced their 2011 catalogue of Cool Canadian Crime.

If that doesn’t supply you with enough mystery, here is a list of 5 easy to find and famously puzzling works from history: Five weird and strange manuscripts.

If that’s not your bag, you might enjoy these more eccentric works: 20 Strange and Wonderful Books, and 20 even stranger and more wonderful books. . . . [more]

Lost amid the rumpus (yes, I used the synonym function for that one) of #elxn41 was an announcement that happened shortly before the election call; from Policy Monitor Canada: Canada Launches Open Government Data Portal. From the Open Data site:

The Open Data Pilot is part of the Government of Canada’s commitment to open government, which is being pursued along three streams: open data, open information and open dialogue, and aims to drive innovation and economic opportunities for all Canadians.

While the content remains somewhat sparse as of yet, I applaud the thinking behind making data more widely available. I . . . [more]

Thinking runs in ruts and it takes a whole lot of effort to get it back on the tarmac again. Habit’s what does it, I’d say: we get used to picking up notions with the same old mental toolset, with the result that our views remain fairly fixed no matter what the world may lay at our feet. As the saying goes, we wind up holding a hammer so everything looks pretty much like a nail.

Getting a new mind tool can be wonderfully liberating. Which is why, although it’s a Friday, I’m going to point you to a box . . . [more]

My previous posting examined three issues relating to confidentiality obligations in an outsourcing agreement where care and attention may be needed to ensure that the parties achieve the results they are intending. I want to continue along the same path in today’s posting, looking at four more issues relating to confidentiality obligations in outsourcing agreements that the customer or the service provider do not always get right. 

4. Restrictions on the disclosure and use of Confidential Information

Confidentiality obligations frequently limit the ability of a party to use or disclose the confidential information of the other party in terms similar . . . [more]

The good folk over at 3 Geeks and a Law Blog have asked readers to contribute Your Favorite PowerPoint Story:

We had a lot of traffic, comments and feedback when Toby wrote his “Don’t Use PowerPoint” post last week. We thought we’d play off of that post to ask the readers to comment on some of their PowerPoint stories (we said they could be good or bad… but, we preferred bad) and share them with us for this week’s Elephant Post. I’ve used PowerPoint for many, many years, and it is a rare occasion that everything that worked on

. . . [more]

Many interested stakeholders who participated in the AODA consultation process from February 1, 2011 to March 18, 2011 are very concerned about the timelines and a number of the requirements related to the implementation of the transportation standard. The cost implications for the transportation standard are believed to be significant. Provisional estimates, for certain smaller transit systems, would see the annual ongoing operating costs equate to upwards of 50 percent of the current operating costs.

Responding to a Request for Proposal (RFP) is an expensive exercise. Proposals are labour-intensive, often last minute, and have the capability of greatly enhancing or diminishing a law firm’s reputation with the recipients. 

Lawyers find proposals intrusive on their billable hours and think that their marketing staff should be able to handle the process. However, even the best marketing staff, who can research the prospective client and pull together a decent first draft, needs input from the lawyers on the proposal team. They need the lawyers’ insights on the client’s legal needs. They need relevant, specific examples of the firm’s . . . [more]

I attended a Women’s Law Association of Ontario dinner recently where Chief Justice Winkler provided the following tips on how to succeed in law:

1. Law is a helping profession. Help others without looking for anything in return.

2. People want to help you. Graciously give them the opportunity do so.

3. Respect your elders. Respect those younger than you. Respect those the same age. Respect those in lesser positions than yours. Respect others.

4. Be loyal. Loyalty begets loyalty.

5. Do not exaggerate. Don’t mislead the court. Don’t take advantage of anyone.

6. Get a mentor or several mentors.Don’t

. . . [more]

When you have a second to lift your head from the day-to-day, moment-to-moment legal work on your desk, you might take a look at what some people are envisioning with respect to your future legal work. The Law Lab — “A Petri Dish for Legal Innovation” — (a not entirely… savoury image, perhaps) — is a joint venture of Harvard’s Berkman Institute and the Kauffman Foundation of Entrepreneurship with the mission:

to investigate and harness the varied forces — evolutionary, social, psychological, neurological and economic — that shape the role of law and social norms as they enable cooperation, governance

. . . [more]