Uwe Manski

The plaintiff commenced four separate actions arising out of the bankruptcy and subsequent death of a lawyer.

The defendants brought motions for summary judgment to dismiss the actions, primarily arguing they were barred by the applicable limitation periods.

The court granted summary judgment dismissing the Bankruptcy Trustee Action and the Client Assigned Claims Action (with one minor exception), finding they were commenced after the expiry of the two-year limitation period and there was no genuine issue for trial regarding discoverability.

However, the court denied summary judgment for the s. 38 BIA Action and the Copyright Action, finding genuine issues requiring a trial regarding when the plaintiff knew or ought to have known of the injuries and whether the copyrighted materials were used during the relevant period.

Following the sudden death of a successful furniture manufacturer, his common-law spouse and his daughters from a previous marriage engaged in extensive litigation.

The spouse, who operated her own furniture business from the same premises as the deceased's failing company, sued the daughters, the estate, and various professional advisors for breach of contract, civil conspiracy, and unlawful interference with economic relations after the deceased's company was placed into bankruptcy and her access to equipment was interrupted.

The court dismissed the conspiracy and interference claims, finding the defendants acted reasonably to manage the insolvency, but awarded the spouse $72,520 for breach of a handwritten lease and equipment agreement.

In related applications, the court upheld a change of life insurance beneficiary executed by the deceased before his death and enforced the terms of a cohabitation agreement, allowing the spouse to remain in the family home and ordering the estate to pay $84,106.25 for property maintenance and capital expenses.