The court's decision in Poirier v. Logan, 2021 ONSC 1633, demonstrates
the importance of promptly disclosing partial settlement agreements
that change the adversarial orientation of the proceeding.
The plaintiff sued several parties. In October 2019, the
plaintiff and one of the defendants entered into a settlement
agreement wherein the action would be dismissed against that
defendant and that defendant would provide a sworn affidavit. This
affidavit contained evidence that assisted the plaintiff's case
against the co-defendants.
Six months later, the plaintiff's lawyer advised the
co-defendants' lawyers of the partial settlement.
Justice Perell noted that when a plaintiff settles with one or
more co-defendants, and the settlement changes the adversarial
orientation of the proceeding, such as when the settling
co-defendant agrees to cooperate in the plaintiff's prosecution
of the case, the plaintiff must immediately disclose to the
non-settling defendants: (a)
