Altaf Ibrahim was acquitted today, on account of mental illness, in the trial over his murder of Jean Springer on New Year’s Day in 2007. Apparently Ibrahim suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, and had been off of his medications. He had delusions, where he believed that his friends from University were tracking him, and had raped his mother.

Indeed, it is these delusions that lead to the death of Jean Springer. When the delusions that his friends had raped his mother began in 2004, Ibrahim accused Anton Springer, Jean’s son, and another housemate of his at Uni, of this, and being “out to get him.” Anton Springer had been Ibrahim’s friend, taking the kid “under his wing” at the University of Western Ontario.

Ibrahim, on New Year’s Day in 2007, went to the Springer’s home, looking for Anton and his mother. While he had not seen Anton in two years, he assumed that he must still be living at home. When the door to the family house was opened by Jean, Ibrahim shot her.

Now Ibrahim’s been acquitted, because of his mental illness. While the murder is tragic, the family’s response has been mild. Jean Springer’s sister, said:
“It’s a tragedy on both sides. We have lost Jean, and Jean was really dear … to many, many people. Look at the other side and the (Ibrahim) family also has a tragedy and we are very sympathetic … We’re not vengeful because we’re Christian people.”

While this is a huge tragedy, It’s interesting to see the family’s reaction. And we can hope that families can do their best to cope, and, in Ibrahim’s case, help him get treatment. Hopefully we can find ways to be more supportive of mental health patients, so tragedies like this can be avoided in the future. While it’s impossible to prevent these types of tragedies, at least we can avoid one or two.

[Toronto Star]

Ontario residents beware: talking on your phone while driving is now a no-go. They’re also talking about taking away your iPod and other handheld devices while you drive, too, though that legislation is a bit further back in the pipe. Though, right now, according to The Toronto Star, you can no longer use your cell phone or blackberry while driving, or any hand-held GPS device (though apparently you may continue to use dashboard-mounted devices and hands-free cell phones).

Now, as someone who cannot SMS and walk to save my life, let alone manage a cell phone and drive, this seems like an eminently reasonable sort of ban. It’s not really that difficult to get into a car accident- like it or not, no matter how good a driver you are, there are many accidents that are just unavoidable. Distracted driving is just silly- you simply cannot respond as quickly to things like that deer, that four year old, that hairpin turn, when your mind is focused on typing a message on a 9-key keyboard with an inch-and-a-half square screen.

So, while I can sympathize, that it’s nice and convenient to be able to gab on the phone and drive, talking on a cell phone while driving is likely to land you a big ticket now, so I’d suggest laying off.

Of course, the Telecom industry has their PR people out doing some sort of opposition to this. Marc Choma, a spokesperson for the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association, thinks folks should use common sense. He also said, “The cellphone isn’t designed to broker your mortgage or speak with your divorce lawyer while you’re driving down the Don Valley. People should avoid unnecessary calls.”

Which, while reasonable, is obviously not what happens in real life. So, hopefully you can manage to leave the phone in your purse/pocket/whatever, or find some hands-free solution, and avoid a moving violation in the near future.

Distracted Driving PSA

Not sure if every one can remember the election days of 2000 and not sure if every one can recollect the controversy regarding Mr. Bush’s DUI charge. George W. Bush was arrested for DUI near his family home in Maine. According to the Criminal Code of Canada, individuals with a DUI records are not permitted to enter Canada. So how did Mr. Bush manage so many travels into Canada with his DUI record?

In order enter Canada with a DUI record, the record must be at least 5 years old. Further, you must prove to the Canadian Immigration officers that you have gone through the necessary rehabilitation steps and must have friends give written statements on your recent behaviors. But of course if you are the President of United States and were invited by Canada heads, I am sure the process was pretty sweet to gain access into Canada.

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Claudia Avila, 43 year old Palm Beach native, was travelling on I-95 on her way to meet her daughter for lunch when a 34 pound metal plate flew in through the windshield, hitting her in the head. Results: she suffered serious head injuries, went into coma and within 2 weeks later died. Florida Highway patrol investigated where possibly this 34 metal pound could have come from and found nothing. Not satisfied, Claudia’s family took it the media prompting mass coverage of their tragedy and eventually leading to a full blown out investigation. One of the key players in the Investigation are the Personal Injury Lawyers Claudia’s family hired to investigate, find the wrong doers, and get compensation for it. No money can ever compensate for a lost one, but knowing how and why she died always helps settle one’s peace with the incident. Marc A. Wites, The personal injury law firm the family hired, helped them get to the bottom of the case by producing surveillance videos of trucks owned by company EM purchasing metal plates from Tarmac America which were then taken on I-95 around the same time Claudia Avila was on the road.

Marc A. Wites was able to prove that as a result of negligence on Tarmac America’s part, the 34 pound metal plates flew off the truck and hit Claudia Avila resulting in wrongful death. On September 17, 2008 the jury found Tarmac America at fault and awarded Claudia’s family 6.1 million dollars.

Again, no money can ever replace a loved one, sometimes people do not know where to turn in the event of wrongful deaths and that’s where we are at our best - helping clients find the right personal injury lawyer in Canada.

So it’s libel suit time in Hollywood! We’ve got David Duchovny suing the British tabloid the Daily Mail, and Oprah Winfrey being sued by two separate people.

David Duchovny, formerly of the “X-Files” and now of “Californication,” is suing the Daily Mail over a story they printed, where they claimed he was cheating on his wife with his tennis coach. Duchovny’s seeking $1 million from the Daily Mail, who he’s suing for defamation and invasion of privacy. Duchovny’s been married to Tea Leoni, his wife, for 11 years, though they separated recently. Edit Pakay is the tennis coach the Daily Mail said he was cheating with, though Duchovny denies having hired her, and says she is a friend he’s played tennis with a few times.

Well, let’s hope for Duchovny’s two children, this doesn’t end in a nasty divorce and child custody battle.

Oprah’s cases are rather different, with the iconic daytime talk show hostess first facing a lawsuit from the former headmistress at the South Africa girl’s school Winfrey started. Winfrey had made remarks last year, after reports of abuse of the girls’ in the dormitories at the school, which suggested that Nomvuyo Mzamane, the headmistress, knew about the abuse and had tried to cover the whole thing up. Mzamane, 49, is seeking $250,000 on five separate defamation personal injury charges. The incident Mzamane is accused of covering up is the abuse by Tiny Virginia Makopo, a dorm matron at the school, of six of the girls. Makopo allegedly tried to fondle and kiss the girls, and kicked and beat others.

The other case against Winfrey right now is several degrees… stranger. Apparently a Louisiana man is suing Winfrey, claiming she and her lawyers made false statements to the FBI, who subsequently arrested him on charges of extortion. This guy is looking for $180 million in damages… which doesn’t lend credence to the original charges at all, really buddy. In any case, apparently Mr. Keifer Bonvillain (oh dear that name) was arrested in December of 2006. Allegedly, Mr. Keifer recorded phone calls with someone on the staff at Winfrey’s production company, and then apparently told an executive he was going to publish a book based on those conversations. He claimed to have some ridiculously good offers for the book, and apparently through all of this someone at the company offered to pay Bonvillain $1.5 million, and the FBI caught him after wiring him $3,000 and agreeing to meet him. Bonvillain had the charges dismissed, though he was required to return the money he’d been wired, undergo psychological testing, and complete fifty hours of community service. Now he’s suing, saying that it’s false statements made by Winfrey to the FBI that resulted in his arrest…

Well, best of luck to everyone as they try to sort at who’s said what and whether it’s true. Here’s hoping you’re not facing anything similarly ridiculous.

[Duchovny, Winfrey vs. ex-Headmistress, Winfrey vs. Bonvillain]

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Among driving violations, impaired driving is most emphasized upon, it can also be referred to as driving under the influence, or DUI, driving while intoxicated and operating while intoxicated. Impaired driving usually results in stronger fines and penalties than normal driving violations. Impaired driving entails that the person driving has consumed enough alcohol to impair his driving abilities and can be usually determined either by a blood-alcohol test, some other sobriety test, or just by the observation of an officer.
Drinking and driving is the most common crime committed in Canada. It is also the greatest cause of personal injury and death. Drivers who choose to drink and drive face not only endangering themselves or someone else, but also face severe legal and other consequences

In Canada there aren’t any national laws covering all aspects of drinking and driving, instead all provincial governments have enacted their own measures against impaired driving. The Constitution of Canada defines the powers of the federal and provincial or territorial levels of government.
All provinces and territories also use their authority under their respective highway traffic laws to impose administrative sanctions and measures that apply to drivers convicted of Criminal Code drinking-driving offenses. Note that some provinces may suspend driver’s license upon an individual being charged with impaired driving, rather than being convicted.

References to Criminal Code

Under the Criminal Code of Canada, driving a vehicle under the influence of alcohol is a generic term for a series of offenses. The main offenses are laid down under section 253 (a) and (b) of the Canadian Criminal Code and include:

1. operating a motor vehicle while the ability to do so is impaired by alcohol or a drug, and
2. operating a motor vehicle while having a blood alcohol concentration of greater than 80 milligrams of alcohol in 100 milliliters of blood.

Different types of Offenses
Impaired Driving causing death or bodily harm, drinking and driving if it causes death or bodily harm and if the right circumstances exist, could lead to serious charges, such as dangerous driving, manslaughter or criminal negligence.

First offense
The minimum charge if convicted of impaired driving is a $600 fine and 1 year driving prohibition.

Second offense
The minimum charge if convicted for the second time with impaired driving is 14 days jail time and and 2 year driving prohibition.

Third or subsequent offenses
The minimum charge if convicted for the third or any subsequent offenses is 90 days jail time and 3-year driving prohibition or worse.

The E. Coli outbreak in Toronto, originating from a Harvey’s restaurant in the city, is now leading to a class-action lawsuit, as two of the victims of the outbreak, Bradley Bell and Daniel Goguen, file their claim. There are 209 suspected cases of E. Coli, all of which tie back to the one Harvey’s restaurant. One of the victims, a child, is in serious condition at Sick Kids Hospital as of last night.

Cases first started being reported about two weeks ago, though it took them several days to discover the common factor between the cases. The Havey’s was closed that Sunday evening, though a public statement of this wasn’t made until Tuesday.

While there are 209 possible cases, only 39 have been confirmed through laboratory testing (this apparently takes quite a while), and it seems as though the disease was limited to the one restaurant, and thus not a particular issue for other Toronto residents. However, the Health Department and other local government agencies seemed slow to respond, and concerns have been raised about their ability to respond to more severe crises.

Though, with so many possible cases, including such serious cases, it seems like this class-action suit may grow. Cara Operations Ltd. (Harvey’s parent company) was the only party named in the suit, and the two gentleman are currently asking for $17,000,000 in damages.

So, whether or not Harvey’s corporate owners are liable for the hygiene (or lack thereof) at this particular branch, remains to be seen. Best of luck getting over the E. Coli, though, guys.

In other food news, a whole bunch of William Davids Foods sandwiches are being recalled! And, yeah, it’s our favorite reason for recalls these days: Listeria. While there are no illnesses reported that are related to these foods yet, apparently they may be contaminated, so avoid them. And while this is, of course, in the wake of a bevy of cases of Listeria this summer, and then several Listeria-related class action lawsuits. Whether there will be cases from William Davids Foods, and whether they will further be held liable for their food’s safety, is yet to be seen.

And so while it seems that our food services industry here is primarily devoted to keeping liability lawyers busy, we can always remember- at least we have legal recourse when things go wrong, unlike in China.

[E.Coli: Globe and Mail, Listeria: Toronto Star]

Live in Alberta? It’s time to find a lawyer to help with those traffic tickets. Apparently they’re about to start cracking down on unpaid traffic fines.

Apparently the Justice Department, in pursuing unpaid fines, have the ability to seize wages, bank accounts, and property, as well as block you from registering your vehicle, or renewing your license.

Well, that sucks. Then again, in the US that stuff happens automatically, so maybe we’re just behind the times.

In any case, it’s not like the Justice Department (headed by Minister Alison Redford) is without motivation to do this right now- apparently there are over $126,000,000 in unpaid traffic fines right now. That’s more than 650,000 unpaid tickets, including some people with up to 50 tickets they just haven’t bothered dealing with. (Then again, if the police didn’t do anything when you ignored your tickets, why not just keep ignoring them? Well, not anymore, I suppose).

Apparently 15,000 letters will go out by the end of this month, to people with outstanding tickets in Edmonton, and then they’ll expand with more letters to people elsewhere in the province.

This, of course, is not too long after a recent Edmonton “ticket blitz,” where, in the space of 24 hours, police issued nearly 1,700 speeding tickets, and another 444 tickets for other things, including impaired driving. They also apparently caught someone going 200km/hr in a 100km/hr zone.

So, I’m sure the police, who apparently weren’t really aware that not all of the tickets they issued were having their resulting fines paid, will rejoice at this news, as their coiffures fill with the money of all of us who have received speeding tickets in Alberta. Besides the sort of… suspicion of a general excess in ticketing here, doesn’t it seem odd that millions of dollars in traffic fines would have gone unpaid for so long? And with the police themselves not noticing? Well, they know now. And maybe once they have people actually paying the tickets they hand out, they’ll stop going on “ticketing blitzes”, and actually just focus on, y’know, dangerous driving and road conditions.

In any case, good luck finding a lawyer for traffic court- it’s going to be busy season soon.

[Globe and Mail]

When an individual dies, the assets owned by him must be located and protected. These assets are called as the deceased’s estate. The debts of the deceased must be paid out of the estate assets. After the debts have been paid from the estate, whatever remains can then be distributed among the beneficiaries named in the deceased’s will or according to the provincial law of intestacy. When an individual dies without a will, he is said to have died intestate.

What is an Estate Trustee ?

Generally, when a person dies, he or she has all types of property and possessions. The estate trustee is the individual responsible for dividing this property among the deceased heirs. There are two ways, in general, that people can inherit from a deceased. First, if the deceased had a will, that will sets out who is to inherit and what they are to inherit. Second, if the deceased died without a will, he or she is said to have died intestate.

Personal Representative

“Personal representative” is a general term for a person who administers an estate. It includes both executor and administrator. An executor draws his power from the bill while in order to become an administrator it is necessary to make an application to the court. In plain language, the term “personal representative” includes executors (where a will names an executor) and administrators (where a person dies intestate, or an executor declines, and the court must name someone to administer the estate). The office of personal representative is voluntary. Even if one is named in a will as executor, one can decline (by a process called “renunciation”).

A personal representative is under a duty to take possession of the assets, pay the debts, look after insurance matters and keep proper accounts. The personal representative stands as way station between the deceased and the beneficiary. Legally, the title to property goes from the deceased to the personal representative (as trustee for the beneficiaries) and then to the beneficiaries. However, it is pertinent to note that there are certain exceptions to this such as joint property and RRSPs or insurance policies with named beneficiaries. Property in these cases are transferred automatically on death and do not depend on probate

Administration of an Estate

Once an estate trustee obtains a certificate of appointment, it is his/her duty to administer the deceased’s estate. primarily, the estate trustee is supposed to determine what assets belongs to that estate which includes all assets owned by the deceased in the deceased’s name alone and any interest that the deceased might have had in the property owned jointly with someone else.

The estate trustee should take the following steps:

Gather the assets of the estate

Administer or manage the estate

Realize the estate

Making arrangements for the funeral.

Account to the beneficiary for the administration of the estate.

So apparently this week is “celebrities not really facing repercussions for bad driving” week, and we’ve got Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, and Hulk Hogan’s son, all in the news.

Let’s start off with Britney, who’s been fighting a driving without a valid license charge from, yeah, that time she hit a parked car and then drove off without notifying the owner. Apparently she didn’t have a license then, either! Oh, Brit. Well, it’s been declared a mistrial, in any case- since jurors were deadlocked (10-2 for her acquittal), and apparently the prosecutors aren’t going to pursue this further. So, Britney and her lawyers are rejoicing, as she’s no longer being threatened with a criminal record, or, as one of the plea deals had offered, paying a $1000 fine. Hopefully dear Britney can remember not to hit and run in front of cameras, next time. (People, MSNBC)

Lindsay Lohan’s drama is also everlasting, it seems. While these days she’s cleaned up and settled down with New York City-based DJ Sam Ronson, she’s still got troubles from her past- now including another lawsuit. Remember that drunken car chase of hers, from 2007? (Yeah, back then we had a poor, closeted little Lindsay borrow some random people’s car to chase after her recently-fired assistant, through Santa Monica. How she’s changed!). Well, while she reached a plea deal on the actual DUI charges, she’s now facing a lawsuit from the passengers in the SUV she commandeered- Ronnie Blake, Jakon Sutter and Dante Nigro. They’re now alleging that the ride was traumatic, and they feared for their lives, as they stayed with her in the speeding vehicle, and then at one point exited and re-entered the vehicle… Well, they can have fun trying to extort some money from the actress, but, maybe I’m partisan here, I’m kind of rooting for her to win, so she can put all this stuff behind her, and, y’know, start acting again. (People, MSNBC)

Finally, in our roundup, Hulk Hogan’s son was released from Jail yesterday, after serving five months in an eight-month sentence. Nick Bollea, the boy, was in jail for his 18th birthday, after speeding down a busy street and crashing Hulk Hogan’s car, leaving a friend with permanent injuries. Apparently the victim’s family asked for a shorter sentence than the five years that normally accompanies vehicular assault, and then the kid behaved well in jail. Well, here’s hoping jail taught him to avoid future car accidents, and that not everyone is indestructible, like his wrestler-father. (AP, MSNBC)