Private Law Theory Workshop
Three members of the Tort Law Research Group recently presented papers at the annual Private Law Theory Workshop, hosted by the University of Toronto Faculty of Law. [Read more]
Group Members Debate New Privacy Tort
On Tuesday, April 3, the Tort Law Research Group hosted a discussion of the Ontario Court of Appeal's recent decision in Jones v Tsige, 2012 ONCA 32, which recognized a new tort of "intrusion on seclusion." [Read more]
Nick McBride - Thinking about Tort Law: Where do we go from here?
On Tuesday, March 20, Nick McBride from Pembroke College, Cambridge, gave a public lecture entitled, "Thinking about Tort Law: Where do we go from here?" [Read more]
Roundtable Discussion on Internet Defamation
Members of the Tort Law Research Group were joined by other colleagues from Western Law for a roundtable discussion on two recent internet defamation cases: Crookes v Newton and Baglow v Smith. [Read more]
Obligations VI Receives Support from SSHRC
The Sixth Biennial Conference on the Law of Obligations, to be hosted by Western Law in July 2012, has received a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. [Read more]
Hart Publishes Rights and Private Law
The edited collection, which features papers presented at the Obligations V Conference at Oxford in 2010, addresses the recent strand of private law scholarship known as "rights-based" analysis. It includes chapters by Tort Law Research Group members Jason Neyers and Erika Chamberlain. [Read more]
Russell Brown Speaks on "Inferring Cause-in-Fact"
On Friday, November 4, Professor Russell Brown from the University of Alberta delivered a public lecture on causal inferences in negligence. [Read more]
Registration Open for Obligations VI
Registration and program details for the Sixth Biennial Conference on the Law of Obligations are now available. Obligations VI: Challenging Orthodoxy will be held July 17-21, 2012 and hosted by Western Law. Click here for full conference details.
Final Sponsors Announced for Obligations VI
Western Law is pleased to announce the final two sponsoring firms for the Obligations VI Conference, to be held July 18-20, 2012 at the Ivey Spencer Leadership Centre in London, Ontario: McCarthy Tetrault LLP and McKenzie Lake LLP.
[Read more]Cohen Highley LLP Sponsors Public Lectures for 2011-12
The Tort Law Research Group is pleased to announce that Cohen Highley LLP is sponsoring its public lectures for the 2011-12 academic year. Each year the Group brings at least two high-profile speakers on tort law to Western to deliver a public lecture aimed at law students, faculty members and the local legal community.
New Edition of Tort Law Casebook Published
Tort Law Research Group members Robert Solomon, Erika Chamberlain and Stephen Pitel and their former colleague Mitchell McInnes have published the eighth edition of Cases and Materials on the Law of Torts. The book is available from Carswell from June 2011, ready for use in the 2011-12 academic year. This highly regarded casebook provides a detailed examination of every major area of Canadian tort law. It features helpful explanatory introductions, concise extracts of key decisions, editorial passages, detailed notes and questions, and review problems.
Chamberlain Addresses Judges and Trial Lawyers
Professor Erika Chamberlain presented papers to both the National Judicial Institute (NJI) and the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association (OTLA) in May. Her paper, "The Duty of Care: A Decade After Cooper v Hobart" was part of the NJI's annual Civil Law Seminar, held in Montreal. The second paper, "Negligent Investigation: A Hollow Victory for the Wrongly Accused?" was given at OTLA's Spring Conference in Toronto. Chamberlain provided a review and update of negligence claims brought against police since the groundbreaking Supreme Court of Canada decision in Hill v Hamilton-Wentworth Regional Police Services Board (2007).
Sponsors Announced For Obligations VI
Western Law is pleased to announce five sponsoring firms for the Obligations VI Conference, to be held July 18-20, 2012 at the Ivey Spencer Leadership Centre in London, Ontario.
Lewis Klar on the Tort Liability of Public Authorities
On Friday March 18th, the Tort Law Research Group hosted its second public lecture. Professor Lewis Klar, QC, from the University of Alberta, presented a lecture entitled “The Tort Liability of Public Authorities: Where Does Canadian Law Go from Here?"
In his lecture, Professor Klar critiqued the last decade of decisions on public authority liability in Canada. In particular, he questioned the courts’ reliance on statutory provisions to determine whether a private law duty of care exists to prevent such harms as the outbreaks of SARS and West Nile Virus, defective medical implants, or the dishonesty of mortgage brokers and lawyers. Professor Klar argued that this approach is contrary to the leading case of R v Saskatchewan Wheat Pool.
Download an MP3 of the lecture.
Obligations VI: Call for Papers
The Sixth Biennial Conference on the Law of Obligations ("Obligations VI") will be hosted by Western Law on July 18-20, 2012 in London, Ontario.
The theme of the conference is 'Challenging Orthodoxy'. Scholars working in the fields of contract, tort, unjust enrichment, equity or private law theory are invited to submit proposals for papers addressing the conference theme. The theme is intended to encourage scholars to question some of the common law’s established rules and approaches and to propose novel solutions to old problems.
[read more]Headline Speakers Confirmed for Obligations VI Conference
The following speakers have been confirmed for the Obligations VI Conference in July 2012: Melvin Eisenberg (Berkeley), John Goldberg (Harvard), Andrew Robertson (Melbourne), Ernest Weinrib (Toronto), and Ben Zipursky (Fordham). An open call for papers will be issued in the spring of 2011.
Torts in Commercial Law Conference
Professor Jason Neyers spoke at Torts in Commercial Law, an international conference held at the Faculty of Law of the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. The conference was a who’s who of international tort lawyers with presentations by leading scholars and judges such as Chief Justice French (High Court of Australia), Andrew Burrows (Oxford), Mark Gergen (Berkeley), Justice Grant Hammond (New Zealand Court of Appeal), Lewis Klar (Alberta), Barbara McDonald (Sydney), Robert Stevens (UCL), Harold Luntz (Melbourne) and Lord Hoffmann (House of Lords).
Professor Neyers’ paper examined whether the High Court of Australia should adopt the reasoning of the majority of the House of Lords in OBG v Allan in relation to the tort of causing loss by unlawful means. The paper argued that there are two possible principled justifications for this tort and illustrated how each of these justifications suggested that the High Court should adopt a definition of “unlawful means” that is different than that given by the House of Lords.
For more information about the Torts and Commercial Law Conference, visit http://www.torts.unsw.edu.au/
Professor Emeritus Gerald Fridman honoured at book launch
More than 50 London lawyers, judges and legal academics gathered at the Old Courthouse on November 25 to celebrate the publication of the third edition of The Law of Torts in Canada. The event was sponsored and organized by Cohen Highley LLP to honour Western Law’s Emeritus Professor Gerald H.L. Fridman. [read more]
"Motive and Intention in Tort Law"
On Wednesday November 3, 2010, the Tort Law Research Group hosted its first public lecture. The talk, entitled "Motive and Intention in Tort Law," was delivered by Arthur Ripstein, a recent inductee into the Royal Society of Canada and world-renowned expert on Kantian legal philosophy. [read more]
Western creates Tort Law Research Group
A new legal research group launched at Western Law will provide a forum to stimulate further research and greater collaboration in the field of tort law. Tort law is a primary part of private law and the law of obligations that provides compensation not only for personal injuries and property damage but also for pure economic losses, environmental harm and psychiatric illness. [read more]
[see also: Canadian Lawyer Magazine]
Western to host international private law conference
After presenting papers at the Fifth Biennial Conference on the Law of Obligations, held at the University of Oxford this past month, Western Law professors Erika Chamberlain and Jason Neyers, along with professor Stephen Pitel, will start preparing for Western to host the event in 2012. [Read more]
