Overview

• Written by a new author team of legal scholars representing law schools across the country.
• Acts as a comprehensive resource, combining academic commentary, case reports, and detailed notes on the subject of remedies.
• Provides extensive excerpts of the Supreme Court of Canada’s important treatment of punitive damages in Whitten.
• Provides clear sections between common-law remedies and equitable remedies so that instructors may choose the appropriate material for their classroom needs.
• Accommodates new jurisprudence in an “evolutionary” rather than a “revolutionary” style to ensure that material is topical and comprehensive, but carefully edited to reduce the overall size of the casebook.
• Offers more coverage to include recent developments in areas such as compensating women for loss of working capacity.
• Includes a new section on enforcement of “keep-open covenants in business contracts.”
• Provides significant revision to material dealing with Charter remedies by including the addition of the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in Doucet-Boudrea v. Nova Scotia (Minister of Education), which tentatively advances structural injunctions.
• Provides additional notes and legislative updating throughout.

TopContent Summary

PART I   Monetary Relief

• General Principles of Damages
• Awards Measured by Benefit to Defendant
• Damages for Breach of Contract
• Damages for Invasion of Property Interests

PART II   Equitable Remedies

• Injunctions and Specific Performance
• Interlocutory Injunctions
• Specific Performance
• Financial Relief in Equity
• Discretionary Reasons for the Denial of Relief
• Charter Remedies

TopPreface

The publishing of this fifth edition heralds a significant change in the editorial personnel of the casebook. The two founding editors, David Mullan and Stanley Sadinsky, as a result of retiring from active teaching at Queen’s University, have decided to leave the editorial board. Thomas Cromwell has also decided to withdraw from active editorship. Readers will know that Thomas was appointed to the bench of the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal, a task that has left him little time to continue editing his chapters.

Jeff Berryman has assumed the general editorship, and together with Jamie Cassels and Stephen Waddams, two of the original editors, have been joined by Vaughan Black, Michael Pratt, and Kent Roach. We are glad to have such highly respected scholars in remedies join the editorial team. Vaughan has assumed control of chapters 3 and 4, vacated by Thomas Cromwell, Michael has direction over chapters 9 and 11 vacated by David Mullan and Stanley Sadinsky, and Kent takes over control of chapter 12 on Charter remedies. With new blood have come new ideas for the casebook.

David and Stanley envisaged a casebook that endeavoured to act as a comprehensive resource tool combining academic commentary, case reports, and detailed notes on the subject of remedies. Their conception was a casebook that could be adapted to the particular focus and interests of individual instructors. Thus, for an instructor who only wished to focus on equitable remedies, the material commencing at part II of the text will provide all that is necessary to ensure complete coverage of the area. The current editors remain true to that original vision. Our experience leads us to believe that most remedies courses taught in Canada combine elements of both common-law and equitable remedies, although emphasis may vary as to whether interlocutory injunctions, Charter remedies, or damages for personal injury are covered. The choice is left to individual instructors, who will find in this casebook appropriate material to meet all particular needs.

The fifth edition is evolutionary, rather than revolutionary, in its accommodation of new jurisprudence. We have avoided the temptation to simply expand the amount of materials to reflect recent cases, but have, by careful editing, consciously tried to reduce the size of the casebook, while maintaining its topical relevance and comprehensive coverage. In chapter 1, the Supreme Court of Canada’s important treatment on punitive damages in Whitten has warranted extensive excerpts. In chapter 5 on personal injuries, much of the public policy material on approaches to compensation has been deleted. While legislatures continue to talk about comprehensive reform in this area, their efforts are more piecemeal and directed to injuries resulting from automobile accidents. Judicial pronouncements in this area remain important and more space has been created to include recent developments in areas such as compensating women for loss of working capacity. In chapter 9, the treatment on the doctrine of part performance has been removed. This material overlapped with much that is taught in firstyear contract law courses. In chapter 11, a new section on the enforcement of keep-open covenants in business contracts has been added. Chapter 12, on Charter remedies, has undergone significant revision, including the addition of the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in Doucet-Boudreau v. Nova Scotia (Minister of Education), which tentatively advances structural injunctions. While the basic cases have remained fairly constant, readers will note considerable addition to the notes and legislative updating throughout the text.

Faculty in Canadian law schools understood from an early point in time the value accorded the systematic studying of remedies and the importance to make space in an otherwise crowded curriculum for a dedicated course devoted to the subject. Throughout the 18 years since publication of the first edition, this casebook has been a source of materials to shape and instill an understanding of the central role remedies play in comprehending and realizing rights. We hope this new edition remains as relevant and topical as its predecessors.

Jeffrey Berryman
March 2006