Category: Civil Litigation
It is illegal for an employer to withhold wages and to not pay you according to your contract or per the regular pay day or pay period.
It is illegal for an employer to withhold wages and to not pay you according to your contract or per the regular pay day or pay period. You do have the option of contacting the Employment Standards Office who will investigate your complaint. If your employment ended, the employer must pay all outstanding wages including vacation pay. If your employer fails to pay, the steps you take are dependent on whether the employer is provincially or federally regulated.
If provincially regulated, then you must make a written Request for Payment to your employer who has 15-days to respond. If your employer refuses or fails to respond, you may file a complaint with the Employment Standards Branch within 6-months of when your employer was obligated to pay you. If you do file the complaint, the Employment Standards Branch may have you go to mediation for resolution. If it is not resolved, it will go to an adjudicator to render a determination. You have further redress if you are not satisfied with the determination by appealing to the Employment Standards Tribunal for a reconsideration.
If federally regulated, you can file a complaint that a Labour Program inspector will review and make a ruling. If you are dissatisfied with the findings, you may ask for a review by the Minister of Labour within 15-days after notice was served. If not satisfied with the review, you can appeal to a referee.
Consult with an experienced Toronto Employment lawyer from Affinity Law if you are experiencing issues with your employer’s failure to pay. We can help file a complaint or take the matter to court under certain circumstances.
‘No win, no fee’ Lawyers
Affinity Law provides cost-effective access to justice for all Canadians. We provide you with the most suitable legal advice and highest representation, while keeping our fees as low as possible. We value your time and work with you to fully understand your specific concerns and will always recommend the most viable and cost effective course of action for you and your specific circumstances.
Before we start any work on your behalf, we advise you on estimated costs of our legal services and fee arrangements, as well as explaining how our fees are calculated.
We offer ‘no win, no fee’ legal services when suitable and when your case is reasonably likely to be successful. ‘No win, no fee’ only applies to our professional fees (the fees we charge for work performed by us). In most cases, disbursements (the out of pocket expenses that we pay to other people) must be paid.
Pay in advance
This is an arrangement where all legal costs are paid in advance and are payable regardless of outcome. The amount to be paid is determined by a written contract between us and you.
For further information on Affinity Law’s fee arrangements, contact us on 1 844 786 0928 or use the contact form.
Vendor contracts are agreements with other individuals or companies to deliver goods and/or services.
Vendor contracts are agreements with other individuals or companies to deliver goods and/or services. These contracts contain the terms and conditions of the agreement such as the nature of the relationship, the contract beginning and termination dates, how to end the contract before the termination date, goals and expectations, payment clause, insurance, indemnification, protection of certain information, and choice of law and dispute resolution. Many vendor agreements have arbitration clauses so that disputes are resolved in this manner in lieu of court.
Breaches or excuses for non-performance by a party occur for a variety of reasons, such as an inability to perform due to unforeseen or superseding circumstances, impracticability, frustration of purpose, failure of conditions, mistake, and others.
A fundamental breach occurs when one party fails to complete a material term of the agreement so that the other party is unable to fulfill its obligations. In such cases, the non-breaching party could simply cancel the contract without any liability to itself. Other remedies that can be pursued include specific performance, rescission, reformation or a claim for damages.
Disputes arise over LOL clauses (limitation of liability) whereby a party wants to limit its liability to direct damages or to a percentage of the revenue paid by a customer to the vendor or supplier and not have to pay consequential damages. However, the LOL clause must be unambiguous or it may be unenforceable. Where consumers are the party to a LOL clause, the corporate entity that included the clause may have done so in an unconscionable environment so that the clause becomes a contract of adhesion where the consumer has no choice but to accept the limited terms. Courts may invalidate such clauses under these circumstances.
Because the majority of vendor agreement disputes are arbitrated, having a skilled Toronto civil litigation lawyer handling your case is essential to a fair and satisfactory resolution.
Real estate construction disputes are not uncommon. If not quickly or adequately resolved,
Real estate construction disputes are not uncommon. If not quickly or adequately resolved, you can experience delays that can result in substantial losses or cancellation of a project. Contact a Toronto civil litigation lawyer from Affinity Law if a real estate construction dispute threatens to derail your plans and cause significant monetary losses.
At Affinity Law, we handle any number of possible issues in real estate construction disputes, including:
- Construction fraud
- Window and exterior façade leaks
- Wood floor problems including expansion and contraction
- Ventilation and exhaust problems
- Use of inferior substitutions or other quality issues
- Damage to the project due to fire, natural disaster, equipment failure, or other causes
- Useless or inadequate warranties
- Management disputes
- Bid process
- Costs associated with delays
- Work that is extra to the project
Any of these issues can be resolved through negotiation, mediation, arbitration, or trial.
All too often, issues in real estate construction can derail a project, delay construction, cause extensive damage, or otherwise create significant legal problems. At Affinity Law, we represent owners, developers, contractors, suppliers, lenders, trades, and suppliers. Issues that we have handled include:
- Design-build contracts
- Claims for extras
- Employment and labour disputes
- Delay claims
- Fraud claims
- Claims for defective workmanship
- Claims regarding contaminated properties
- Claims regarding use of defective materials
When disputes delay a project, our team of construction lawyers provide mediation, arbitration, or litigation to get the project back on track. Call us today to see how Affinity Law can offer you the services and guidance you need to give your business the best opportunity to achieve your goals.
A breach of contractual obligations is not always so apparent. The defendant may assert that it has performed in accordance with the contractual terms.
A breach of contractual obligations is not always so apparent. The defendant may assert that it has performed in accordance with the contractual terms, or there may be a legal excuse for non-performance or partial performance. If there has been a breach, then what remedies does the non-breaching party have?
Under some circumstances, interlocutory or injunctive relief may be sought that can preempt an anticipated breach. Consult a Toronto contract lawyer from Affinity Law if you are accused of a breach or you claim the other party is in breach. Other legal remedies available to you may include:
- Compensatory damages—consequential and expectation. For example, a business can claim damages for what it expected to receive under the contract or according to the market values. It can also claim loss of business profits from the failure to deliver goods, or what was reasonably foreseen when the parties contracted.
- Quantum Meruit—the value of what was earned.
- Rescission of the contract—the contract is terminated and the parties are restored to the positions they had before entering into the contract.
- Specific performance—the breaching party must perform a specific act including completing its obligations under the contract.
- Restitution or reimbursement—restores the party to its position before the contract was formed.
- Mitigation—the nonbreaching party must take steps to mitigate its losses to prevent further damage.
- Liquidated damages—a specific amount to be paid as damages for specific types of breaches as defined within the contract and which amount was agreed to at the time the contract was formed.
A dispute between or among partners can seriously derail a business in its daily operations as well as affecting its growth and sustainability.
A dispute between or among partners can seriously derail a business in its daily operations as well as affecting its growth and sustainability. Before your dispute escalates or if it already has, contact a Toronto business lawyer at Affinity Law to advise you.
Examples of disputes that our attorneys regularly handle include:
- Fraud or theft—your partner embezzled money from the business, which can also result in criminal charges
- Violation of a contractual agreement—this could include an employment provision, a contract with a client, a non-compete agreement, or any part of the partnership contract
- Misuse or violation of the partnership’s intellectual property—a partner has used the business trademark or patent for self-aggrandizement and without consent of the partners
- Breach of fiduciary duty—partners have financial obligations to act in the best interests of the company and not to further their own private interests at the expense of the partnership
- Whether a partnership was created—one may have been created through words or actions including contributions of money, property, knowledge, effort, and skills to a joint venture or undertaking, or if profits are shared, and joint bank accounts created that can create legal liability
Like any relationship, disputes often arise, and business partners are not exempt. When disagreements over business decisions or management arise, if there are allegations of misconduct, disagreement over the terms of the partnership agreement or the division of capital or profits, or if a partner wants a buyout, you need highly skilled legal counsel who can assess your interests, goals, rights, and obligations. In some cases, injunctive relief may be necessary to bar a partner from moving or diverting assets or from stealing your clients, and to protect your intellectual property. Alternative dispute resolution can often resolve many internal disputes. Call Affinity Law if your business is experiencing these typical disagreements.