As those familiar with this annual update know, each fall Lisa Peters, KC, undertakes a review of decisions from the previous 12 to 18 months, looking for cases relevant to commercial practice. If there are cases bringing about significant changes to the law of contract or if the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) weighs in on a contract law issue, Lisa will write about those cases. But typically (and this year is no different), she will also highlight cases that remind us of longstanding contract law principles and that illustrate how those principles apply in practice.

This year's topics are:

• Constitutions and bylaws of voluntary associations – when are they contractual in nature? The latest from the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”);
• Interaction of arbitration agreements and bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings involving a party to an arbitration agreement;
• Rescission and rectification revisited at the SCC;
• Boilerplate and other commonplace clauses:
  • Best efforts clauses and their many variants
  • Ordinary course of business covenants
• Contracts with government and direct vs. indirect fettering of legislative discretion; and
• Update on the doctrine of good faith in contract law.

To read the full paper, click here.