ABLawg

Case Commented On: 1007374 Alberta Ltd v Ruggieri, 2013 ABQB 420

The case of 1007374 Alberta Ltd v Ruggieri, 2013 ABQB 420, is not significant in and of itself, but rather because it highlights some (but not all) of the shortcomings of the current state of the law regarding fraudulent preferences and conveyances. This is an area of law that has been described as “notoriously antiquated and long overdue for reform” (see Tamara M. Buckwold’s article: “Reforming the Law of Fraudulent Conveyances and Fraudulent Preferences” (2012) 52 Canadian Business Law Journal 333, at 333).

Blind Justice? Accommodating Offenders with Disabilities

By Jennifer Koshan

On November 18, 2013

In Constitutional, Criminal, Human Rights

PDF Version: Blind Justice? Accommodating Offenders with Disabilities

Case commented on: R v Myette, 2013 ABCA 371

To what degree should courts accommodate the circumstances of persons with disabilities whose crimes attract jail sentences? The Alberta Court of Appeal recently divided on this issue in R v Myette, 2013 ABCA 371. At the original sentencing hearing, Judge Heather Lamoureux found that a jail sentence would be “unduly harsh” in light of Myette’s visual impairment, and ordered a suspended sentence of 18 months for sexual assault and common assault (2013 ABPC 89 at para 16). A majority of the Court of Appeal (Justices Constance Hunt and Jack Watson) found her approach to be erroneous, and substituted a sentence of 90 days in jail, to be served intermittently on weekends. Justice Peter Martin, writing in dissent, would have dismissed the Crown’s appeal. This post will review the various decisions in this case with a focus on whether sentencing decisions are the proper forum for accommodating the circumstances of offenders with disabilities.

Eighty Percent Of Success Is Showing Up: Or “How A Pro Se Farmer Won A Default Against The United States In His Suit To Invalidate The Permit For Half Of Keystone Xl (& Why It Probably Won’t Last)”

By James Coleman

On November 14, 2013

In Oil & Gas

PDF Version: Eighty Percent Of Success Is Showing Up: Or “How A Pro Se Farmer Won A Default Against The United States In His Suit To Invalidate The Permit For Half Of Keystone Xl (& Why It Probably Won’t Last)”

Case commented on: Bishop v Bostick, 9:13-cv-00082, (E.D. Tex, Nov. 6, 2013).

On April 25, Michael Bishop, a farmer acting pro se, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas to revoke TransCanada’s permit to construct the southern half of the Keystone XL project. This part of the project, known as the “Gulf Coast Project” or “Phase III”, travels from Cushing, Oklahoma to the Gulf Coast. Bishop sued the Army Corps of Engineers and its Commanding General, Thomas Bostick, because the Army Corps issued the permit to TransCanada. The complaint that Bishop filed asked the court to order the Army Corps to revoke Keystone’s permit. Bishop then served this complaint on the Army Corps of Engineers, its officers, and the Attorney General of the United States.

Canada Ratifies ICSID and Alberta Introduces the Necessary Implementing Legislation

By Elizabeth Whitsitt

On November 13, 2013

In International Investment

PDF Version: Canada Ratifies ICSID and Alberta Introduces the Necessary Implementing Legislation

Matters commented on: Canada’s ratification of the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States (the Washington or ICSID Convention) and Bill 40: Settlement of International Investment Disputes Act

On November 1, 2013 Canada deposited its instrument of ratification of the Washington Convention with the secretariat for the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). The Convention will enter into force for Canada on December 1, 2013. The ICSID Convention, as its name implies, is designed to provide for dispute settlement (binding arbitration or conciliation) of investment disputes between states and investors from other states. The Centre may take jurisdiction over any such dispute by the written consent of both parties. That consent may be given in a specific case or it may be given generally. General consent is frequently given by the terms of a bilateral investment treaty such as the recent agreement that Canada has concluded with China. Article 22 of that agreement (which has yet to enter into force) provides as follows:

The State of Estate Administration in Alberta

By Maria Lavelle

On November 12, 2013

In Wills and Estates

PDF Version: The State of Estate Administration in Alberta

Report commented on: Alberta Law Reform Institute, Final Report on Estate Administration

In October 2013, the Alberta Law Reform Institute (ALRI) released its Final Report on Estate Administration. It is anticipated that new estate administration legislation will be introduced in the Legislature this fall.

The current Administration of Estates Act, RSA 2000, c A-2 remains relatively unchanged since it was first introduced in 1969. A person trying to administer an estate, however, would find little guidance in the current Act. This is partly due to the fact that the statute, in essence, is a list of exceptions and accretions to the common law without working them into a coherent whole.

A Case for Reform: The Law of Fraudulent Preferences and Conveyances

Blind Justice? Accommodating Offenders with Disabilities

Eighty Percent Of Success Is Showing Up: Or “How A Pro Se Farmer Won A Default Against The United States In His Suit To Invalidate The Permit For Half Of Keystone Xl (& Why It Probably Won’t Last)”

Canada Ratifies ICSID and Alberta Introduces the Necessary Implementing Legislation

The State of Estate Administration in Alberta