Law Times

May 4, 2009

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A. NEUMAN ASSOCIATES INC. McKELLAR STRUCTURED SETTLEMENTS INC. www.mckellar.com 1-800-265-8381 www.mckellar.com ckellar_LT_Jan14_08.indd 1 $3.55 • Vol. 20, No. 15 1/8/08 3:03:02 PM Inside This Issue 2 North Pole First 6 Bits & Bytes 9 Focus On Personal Injury Law Quote of the week "The value of the decision is in letting doctors know that the legal duty is directly to the patient. . . . Legal clarity is the important thing here, because at the end of the day, the damages will be sorted out and we'll have a system that appropriately reflects any losses." –– Darryl Cruz, partner McCarthy Tétrault LLP See OCA, page 12 Covering Ontario's Legal Scene Forensic Accounting & Damages Quantifi cation Specialists IFAccountant.com (416) 223-5991 Turn Crisis into Opportunity Neuman_LawTimes.indd 1 May 4, 2009 Borovoy had 'ideal' legal career T 'Devoted his whole life to civil liberties in Canada' BY ROBERT TODD Law Times counsel of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association after over 40 years of leading some of the most important social battles in Canadian history. "It's a little overwhelming and it's a little he legal community was out in full force last week to honour Alan Bo- rovoy, who is retiring as general hard for me — I haven't quite been able to assimilate it all," Borovoy tells Law Times in an interview, the day after a gala dinner was held for him. "I'm certainly very grateful for that ex- pression of support. It's given me the feeling that something in our program has caught on with people, and that's a very nice feel- ing to walk away with; that we may have been making more of a difference than I could have realized." During the tribute, held at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Toronto, Borovoy was roasted by the best throughout the evening, taking some friendly jabs from legal heavy- weights including Supreme Court of Cana- da Justice Ian Binnie; former York Universi- ty president Harry Arthurs; Ontario Court of Appeal Justice Robert Sharpe; CCLA chairman John McCamus; and criminal de- fence lawyer Edward Greenspan, who acted as master of ceremonies. The following quote from Binnie's address at the dinner offers a taste of the quips that went Borovoy's way throughout the night: After more than 40 years, Alan Borovoy will retire as general counsel of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association on June 30. He was honoured at a gala dinner last week. every worthwhile civil liberties march, sit in, protest, legislative hearing, for the past 50 or 60 years — maybe even 70 years. He's certainly been identified with every major breakthrough, every major story that I can remember — he's a sort of thinking man's Peter Mansbridge," said Binnie. "Alan has played a major role in virtually The event proved a massive success, with some 600 seats sold at $200 each, with pro- ceeds going to the Canadian Civil Liberties Education Trust. The charitable organization performs research and public education. "Alan has devoted his whole life to civil liberties in Canada," Sharpe tells Law Times See Borovoy, page 4 Record $16.9-million award will 'raise the bar' BY TIM NAUMETZ For Law Times OTTAWA — A record $16.9- millon award to a man who suf- fered lifelong brain damage when his car collided with a leased fur- niture truck will "raise the bar" for severe personal injury damages, his lawyer says. But, because of a 2006 Ontar- io law capping liability for vehicle rental and leasing firms, it is likely few victims will in future be able to collect such high awards, even if they win in court under similar circumstances. And despite an Ontario Court of Appeal ruling that upheld the jury-awarded damages for Robert Marcoccia, his lawyer says the case does not automatically mean dam- age awards in general will rise. TitlePlus_LT_Feb9/16_09 2/4/09 2:02 PM Page 1 "It does raise the bar for dam- ages in the sense that no one has (before this) achieved the result that fully compensates the person for the actual cost of the care they need," says Nancy Ralph, a part- ner at Lerners LLP's Toronto of- fice, who represented Marcoccia at trial. "But it doesn't mean that dam- ages in general will go up," she tells Law Times. "You have to prove that you need these things, you need the care, the services, the therapy and so on, and that the market cost of giving them to you over a lifetime is at this level." The appeal ruling in late April was the second major victory for Ralph in just over a year. In March 2008, the Ontario Court of Appeal upheld a jury award of $14.2 mil- lion in damages for a child Ralph represented who suffered "cata- strophic" injury falling through a damaged apartment window to the cement five floors below. Marcoccia was 20 years old when he ran a red light and his Honda Civic collided with the on- coming truck that was attempting a left hand turn at the same time. Marcoccia initially slowed while the light was amber, but sped up and was in the intersection when it turned red. The driver of the furniture truck, Bhupinder Singh Gill, had entered the intersection while the light was amber, but be- gan his left turn while it was red. Ford Credit Canada Ltd., which had insured the leased furniture truck, appealed the jury's finding that Marcoccia was only 39-per-cent respon- sible for the accident while Gill To ensure your clients get the most comprehensive coverage in one title insurance policy, take a look at the TitlePLUS Program , your Bar-related real estate partner! ® PROTECTION AS GOOD AS IT GETS Together we have all the tools titleplus.ca 1-800-410-1013 1 Please refer to the policy for full details, including actual terms and conditions. The TitlePLUS policy is underwritten by Lawyers' Professional Indemnity Company (LAWPRO®). Contact LAWPRO for brokers in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Alberta and Québec. TitlePLUS policies issued with respect to properties in Québec and OwnerEXPRESS® policies do not include legal services coverage. ® TitlePLUS, the TitlePLUS logo, OwnerEXPRESS and LAWPRO are registered trademarks of Lawyers' Professional Indemnity Company. ® BAR-RELATED Mark is a registered Mark of North American Bar Related Title Insurers used by LAWPRO under License. www.lawtimesnews.com ® 1 12/9/08 11:12:30 AM The appeal ruling is the second major victory for Nancy Ralph in just over a year. was 61-per-cent responsible. In a decision Ralph describes See Both, page 4

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