eDiscovery, keyword searching and … Family Law?

Director, Document Review Services

December 19, 2017

In a previous blog post “Estates in the Digital Age: Debunking E-Discovery Myths in Estate Litigation” we discussed the application of electronic evidence principles to estate litigation, and noted that electronic discovery principles are not limited to large scale commercial disputes. A recent Ontario Superior Court of Justice decision demonstrates, once again, that eDiscovery spans multiple areas of law.

In Leitch v. Novac, 2017 ONSC 6888, the Applicant, Jennifer, filed an application for, amongst other things, spousal support, child support, and equalization of net family property. The parties separated on September 29, 2012 after approximately 15 years of marriage. … Read More

Candice Chan-Glasgow Elected Secretary of E-Discovery Implementation Committee

We’re thrilled to congratulate Candice on being elected Secretary of the Ontario e-Discovery Implementation Committee (EIC).

Candice is Heuristica’s Director of Legal Review Services and leads our team of document review counsel.

The Ontario E-Discovery Implementation Committee (EIC) is a committee of lawyers, judges, and legal technologists with a mandate of recommending, promoting, and implementing thought leadership, best practices, and law reform with respect to information management, discovery, litigation support, and paperless proceedings.

For more information about the EIC please visit their web site here.

Heuristica Celebrates First Anniversary with Expanded Team

Heuristica Discovery Counsel is celebrating its first anniversary and thanks to an extremely successful first year is pleased to announce the addition of two key positions at the firm.

With the addition of several major new clients Heuristica recently has recruited Alan Dingle and Keith Bedford.

Alan and Keith bring relevant expertise and experience to meet the increasingly sophisticated needs of the market and our clients. The two new positions enable Heuristica to continue its expansion and ensure that it continues to exceed client expectations.

Alan Dingle joins Heuristica as Vice President of Marketing and Business Development. … Read More

Court Orders Production of Files in “Usable” Format

On May 24^th, the Alberta Court of the Queen’s Bench ruled that, in certain circumstances, meaningful disclosure requires the production of native electronic files.

Background and Arguments

In Bard v Canadian Natural Resources,[1] the plaintiffs brought a motion requesting, amongst other things, that the court order the defendants to deliver native Excel spreadsheets. The defendant had provided the data in TIFF image files as agreed to by the parties in the discovery plan. The plaintiffs claimed that TIFFs were not a “usable” format.

Privilege Risks and Electronic Discovery

On December 2, 2015, Chief Justice Rossiter of the Tax Court of Canada ruled on the Crown’s motion in CIBC v. The Queen[1] regarding, among other things, CIBC’s privilege claims and the adequacy of CIBC’s Schedule B with respect to electronic data.

The Crown’s motion related to CIBC’s appeal relating to its claim to deduct $3 billion in settlement payments, interest on the payments, and related legal expenses from its business income for the 2005 and 2006 taxation years. The Minister of National Revenue denied the deductions. From an eDiscovery perspective, there are two interesting issues from the ruling, one of which may impact professional liability insurance for privilege errors.… Read More