Court of Appeal Weighs-in on Relevance and Privilege

Candice Chan-Glasgow, Director, Review Services and Counsel

August 20, 2020

A recent Court of Appeal of Alberta decision, Tolton v Tolton, 2020 ABCA 218, provides a helpful reminder on the law of relevance and waiver of privilege.

Betty Tolton and Elwood Tolton separated in 1990, and Betty filed for divorce in 2002. The Toltons entered into minutes of settlement in 2007 which contained a provision indicating that Elwood was required to disclose further information related to a dispute about certain assets and accounts receivable. In 2008, Betty filed an application seeking disclosure of the items listed in the minutes of settlement. … Read More

Court Orders Non-Parties in Parallel Action to Produce Documents

June 11, 2018

In Schwoob v. Bayer Inc., 2018 ONSC 166 (CanLII), a product liability class action, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice ordered two non-parties affiliated with the defendant corporation to produce 2,900 documents that they had produced in a parallel U.S. class action proceeding.

The plaintiffs brought a claim against Bayer Inc. (“Bayer Canada”) and two affiliated companies, Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals Inc. (“Bayer U.S.”) and Bayer Pharma AG (“Bayer Pharma”), in 2010, on behalf of women in Ontario who had taken certain prescription oral contraceptives. The claim alleged negligence in the design, testing, distribution, marketing and sale of the contraceptives, as well as failure to adequately warn of the risk of adverse consequences. … Read More