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ARTICLE · 03 SEPTEMBER 2013

Maintaining Settlement Privilege Promotes Access To Justice

DLA Piper
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A major concern for the legal profession in Canada today is access to justice.

CanadaLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
Justin Seitz
Justin Seitz
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A major concern for the legal profession in Canada today is access to justice. More and more there is unequal access to the justice system with the poorest people suffering the most from rising legal costs. Any measures that may counteract this trend are welcome. The recent Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) decision in Sable Offshore Energy Inc. v. Ameron Interantional Corp., 2013 SCC 37 (Sable) is step in the right direction.

Background

Sable Offshore Energy Inc. (Sable) is an oil company with onshore and offshore facilities in Nova Scotia. It purchased protective paint and hired contractors to apply the paint to the surface of these facilities. The paint failed to prevent corrosion as promised, and Sable brought three lawsuits against several defendants. The lawsuit that is subject to this appeal was against the supplier of the paint as well as twelve other contractors and applicators responsible for applying the paint coatings. Sable was alleging negligence,

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