Law Times

GADFLY REMEMBERED Walter Tucker was famous in Hamilton court P5 LEGAL ONSLAUGHT Environmental lawyers rally against budget bill P7 $4.00 • Vol. 23, No. 21 Covering ontario's legal sCene • www.lawtimesnews.Com Lawyer seeks certainty through sperm bank Markham's Lauri Daitchman wanted to avoid pitfalls in current Ontario case L AW TIMES BY KENDYL SEBESTA Law Times quickly visions of their rosy-cheeked newborn would soon lead to complicated legal questions. "We weighed our options for quite some time, W hen Markham, Ont., lawyer Lauri Daitchman sat down with her same-sex partner to plan how she' become pregnant with their first child, she had no idea just how d Daitchman. "We wanted to take the needs of the child into con- " says sideration and weren't sure what rights, if any, the bio- logical parent would have. But we knew we didn't want to have to worry about making an informal contract that would later cause problems. We wanted to choose a path that was regulated and would provide us with the backup we needed. ident in a legal dispute over sperm donation currently before the Ontario courts. As a result, over the next several months, Daitchman, who has a busy family law practice at Feldstein Family Law Group in Markham, and her partner spent a considerable amount of time before settling on a local sperm bank and then siſting through a large stack of potential donors and ultimate- ly selecting a Canadian man with a healthy medical re- cord and a desire to one day meet his biological child if everyone, including the child, agreed. "It took us a while to reach that decision, but we knew Daitchman was hoping to avoid the legal pitfalls ev- " ntitled-1 1 Daitchman is now four months' pregnant and is ex- pecting the couple's first child in November. " excitement in her voice. "The reception has really been great. Everyone has been so excited for us. It's more than we could have ever asked for." bank was an effort to avoid the potential problems of having a friend or acquaintance as a donor. She points to a recent dispute in Cochrane, Ont., that FOCUS ON P9 Family Law NEWLY REVISED AND UPDATED FOR 2012 Separation Agreements and Marriage Contract/Agreement www.divorcemate.com June 18, 2012 12-06-13 9:03 A think that's something every child deserves if it's in their best interest. But when it comes to contracts made in- formally between two people, you never know what will be enforceable and there is a lot of uncertainty there. So we chose the support and regulation that sperm banks provide. We didn't want to worry. "I've been getting a lot of great advice from my friends and family," she adds with a noticeable tinge of Daitchman says the pair's decision to go to a sperm has weighed heavily on her mind. In Cochrane, a do- nor brought a court application against a lesbian couple he had donated sperm to. According to the applica- tion, which followed the child' we wanted our child to have the option of meeting their biological parent if they wanted to, " says Daitchman. "I Lauri Daitchman is now four months' pregnant after she and her partner sought the legal security of using a sperm bank. Photo: Robin Kuniski and Lavigne couldn't be reached for comment. "If two friends decide to make an agreement for the donation of eggs or sperm and one person later changes Court holds innocent party liable for someone else's pollution BY JULIUS MELNITZER For Law Times A Due diligence is now more important than ever for prospective purchasers, says Jack Coop. owners given its negative impact on innocent parties affected by envi- ronmental contamination. In upholding the 2009 deci- recent Divisional Court decision poses a conun- drum for lawyers advis- ing property and business seek recourse from those who are blameworthy by commencing civil litigation if necessary. According to Dianne Saxe, a Toronto environmental lawyer, one practical consequence of the deci- sion is that people will be less likely to report incidents to the ministry. "If you are a homeowner, small- sion of first instance of the Environmental Review Tribunal, the court unanimously ruled in The Corporation of the City of Kawartha Lakes v. Director, Ministry of the Environment that innocent parties that own property that has become contaminated through no fault of their own are nonetheless respon- sible for cleanup costs and must business owner or victim of a spill and call the Ontario Ministry of the Environment for help, you are now facing a very substantial risk that the response will be an order that you, the victim, pay for the cleanup, she says. "So what advice we give our cli- " ents if the ministry doesn't know about the order is a very tricky deci- sion and it might mean that some- times things go unreported. A DAILY BLOGOF CANADIAN LEGAL NEWS [WWW.CANADIANLAWYERMAG.COM/LEGALFEEwww.lawtimesnews.com LegalFeeds-BB-LT-Apr23-12.indd 1 DS ] provincial officer made an order under s. 157.1 of the Environmental Protection Act requiring the City of Kawartha Lakes, Ont., to reme- diate and prevent any further dis- charge of furnace oil on its prop- erty. The contaminant came from a local resident' Kawartha Lakes arose after a entered the city's storm sewer sys- tem and eventually a lake. All parties agreed the city wasn't " tion in compliance with the order but at fault. Indeed, the ministry had previously ordered the resident to remediate the situation. The resi- dent' spread to the adjacent city land. The city relied on the Divisional s insurer commenced remedia- the pollution continued to See Fairness, page 2 s basement and a contract granted Rene deBlois no access to the child in return for donating sperm to the mother, Nicole Lavi- gne. The biological father, however, alleges he signed the contract under duress, according to the application. The application requests recognition of deBlois as the father and requests liberal access to the child. A trial date in the matter has not yet been set. DeBlois s birth in October 2010, See Regulatory, page 2 CANADIAN LAWYER & LAW TIMES POWERED BY 12-04-16 11:56 AM Pm #40762529

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