Five Need-to-Know Decisions In Commercial Litigation

Recent decisions from Canadian courts will impact businesses in various industries. Below are five takeaways from commercial cases across the country to help your business stay ahead of litigation risk:

1. Rights of First Refusal. In TotalEnergies EP Canada Ltd. v. Suncor Energy Inc., the Court of King's Bench of Alberta reinforced that a party seeking to invalidate a right of first refusal (ROFR) notice must prove that there was bad faith on a balance of probabilities. The decision provides guidance for interpreting and enforcing ROFR clauses in contracts.
2. Breach of Honest Performance. In Bhatnagar v. Cresco Labs Inc., the Ontario Court of Appeal addressed whether a presumption of damages follows from a court's finding that a party has breached its contractual duty of honest performance. The Court of Appeal held that there is a burden on the claimant to show some evidence on which the court can find that the breach of the duty of honest performance resulted in a