This Week At The SCC (24/05/2013)

A Commentary on Recent Legal Developments by the Opinions Group of McCarthy Tétrault LLP

The Supreme Court of Canada has released two judgments and one leave-to-appeal ruling likely to be of interest to Canadian business and professionals.

In Cojocaru v. British Columbia Women's Hospital and Health Centre, a unanimous Supreme Court overturned (in part) a ruling of the British Columbia Court of Appeal.  The BCCA had ruled that the trial judgment must be set aside because the trial judge had, in his reasons, incorporated very large portions of the submissions made by counsel for the plaintiff.  Chief Justice McLachlin concluded that the incorporation of parties' submissions in judgments is common practice in both Canada and abroad.  Such practice is only problematic if a reasonable person would conclude that, in thus utilizing the parties' submissions, the trial judge failed to put her mind to the issues and thereby failed to decide them impartially and