Whose Reliance is it anyway? Court strikes misleading ad claim
A misleading advertising claim brought by one bottled water supplier against a competitor can’t hold water unless the plaintiff (not consumers) relied on the misrepresentation, the Ontario Superior Court held recently. The court relied on cases that require consumers to plead that they relied on misleading ads in order to recover damages. The court imposed this requirement on all plaintiffs without considering that a claim by a competitor is different from claim by a consumer. A misleading advertising claim by one competitor against another is based on losses caused when consumers (not the plaintiff competitor) rely on the misleading ads and shift business ... [more] Full article
Is the Competition Act a “Complete Code”?
Courts debate whether breaches of the Competition Act can support common law claims Recently, Canadian courts have been debating whether the Competition Act is a “complete code” that forecloses the ... [more] Full article
No pot of gold at the end of the Rainbow
A decision by joint operators of an oil field to use a single fluid hauler was not an unlawful conspiracy, the Alberta Court of Appeal held recently, overturning a 2011 decision that awarded over $5.5 million to the loser of a competitive bidding process: 321665 Alberta Ltd. v. Husky Oil Operations Ltd., 2013 ABCA 221. [more] Full article
A Cautionary Tale in Comparative Advertising
National Energy Corporation was recently ordered by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice to stop distributing a comparative advertising brochure which contained false and misleading statements about the services and ... [more] Full article
Private Actions Contributors
Masiel A. Matus
Masiel has a broad commercial litigation practice and represents both national and international clients in a variety of complex matters. Masiel has experience litigating cases involving professional negligence, commercial leasing and real property disputes, insurance, contract disputes, shareholder disputes, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of trust, employment matters and defamation claims.
