Author Archives: Nicholas Rafferty

About Nicholas Rafferty

B.A., LL.B., M.A., (Cantab.), LL.M. (Ill.) Professor. Member of the Alberta Bar. Please click here for more information.

Recognizing Foreign Divorces: The Public Policy Defence

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Case considered: Zhang v. Lin, 2010 ABQB 420

Zhang v. Lin raised the question of whether a divorce granted in Texas should be recognized in Alberta. Interestingly, the court determined that it should refuse recognition of the Texas decree because it violated Canadian public policy. In the past, such a defence has been seen as more of a theoretical than a real possibility. In Zhang, however, the court came to that conclusion very readily. What concerned the Alberta court was not so much the divorce itself but the apparent lack of corollary relief by way of child and spousal support available to the respondent in Texas.

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Enforcing a Montana Judgment in Alberta: A Perilous Pursuit?

Case considered: Laasch v. Turenne, 2009 ABQB 267

PDF version: Enforcing a Montana Judgment in Alberta: A Perilous Pursuit

A Montana resident secures a large money judgment in his or her home state. The judgment creditor needs to enforce that judgment in Alberta because the judgment debtor resides and maintains assets in this province. You are retained to effect the enforcement of that judgment. What are the available options? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each? These questions lay at the heart of Laasch v. Turenne.

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Ability to Sue in Alberta for Injuries Sustained on a Holiday Abroad

Cases considered: Robinson v. Fiesta Hotel Group Resorts, 2008 ABQB 311

PDF Version: Ability to Sue in Alberta for Injuries Sustained on a Holiday Abroad

If like many Canadians you decide to take a winter vacation to follow the sun and you sustain serious personal injuries because of the negligence of your hotel, you may well want to sue the hotel in Alberta. Can you do so? Is it worthwhile to do so? These were two of the questions facing James Robinson.

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What’s Wrong with Landlords’ Rights?

Cases Considered: 550 Capital Corp. v. David S. Cheetham Architect Ltd., 2008 ABQB 370

PDF Version: What’s Wrong with Landlords’ Rights?

Is it wrong for a landlord to insist on compliance with a term of a commercial lease? The recent judgment of Mr. Justice Sandy Park in 550 Capital Corp. v. David S. Cheetham Architect Ltd. certainly seems to indicate that it is inequitable for a landlord to require a tenant to do what it should have done, namely, to request the landlord’s consent to an assignment of the lease. The unidentified type of estoppel found to prevent the landlord from terminating the lease and the unnecessary relief from forfeiture granted so that the tenant could undo its assignment both appear, with all due respect, to be unjustified both on the facts and the law.

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Jurisdiction In Personam and the Rules for Service Ex Juris

Cases Considered: Wheeler v. 1000128 Alberta Ltd., 2008 ABQB 70,

PDF Version: Jurisdiction In Personam and the Rules for Service Ex Juris

Introduction
Wheeler v. 1000128 Alberta Ltd., 2008 ABQB 70, was a complicated case in which the plaintiff alleged that he, and other members of a proposed class, had incurred losses as a result of the breach by the various defendants of the insider trading rules under Alberta’s Securities Act, R.S.A. 2000, c. S-4. More specifically, the plaintiff alleged that, in a series of steps, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), acting through its subsidiaries, and in particular 1000128 Alberta Ltd. (Alberta Co.), purchased the shares of PetroKazakhstan Inc. (PKZ), an international energy company with its head office in Calgary. He further alleged that, in the course of these steps, various of the defendants, with the knowledge of and in conspiracy with the other defendants, became aware of, acted upon, and disclosed to Alberta Co. certain material facts in breach of the Securities Act. According to the plaintiff, Alberta Co. then used this information to purchase shares in PKZ with money supplied by CNPC International Ltd. (CNPCI), a subsidiary of CNPC.

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