Derek Aldridge
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The awarding of costs and payment of legal fees in a case brought before the Court: is there a potential injustice?
This article shows that there may be a potential injustice due to the tax treatment of an employee-plaintiff versus a corporate-defendant. We show that the costs imposed on a losing employee-plaintiff impose a greater burden than the same level of costs imposed on a losing corporate defendant. This is because the employee-plaintiff must such pay… Continue reading
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Selecting the Discount Rate – An Update
In this article the consultants at Economica have combined to review the most recent information concerning the “discount rate;” that is, the rate of interest at which plaintiffs are assumed to invest their award. Continue reading
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The Deduction for “Expenses Related to Earning Income” in Rewcastle
In this article Christopher Bruce and Derek Aldridge discuss the court’s decision in the recent case of Rewcastle v. Sieben. The case concerned an estate claim brought under the Survival of Actions Act. In his decision, Justice Hutchinson introduced a new method for calculating the deduction for “expenses directly related to earning income.” In their… Continue reading
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Estate Claims Following the Appeal Court Decisions in Duncan and Brooks
In this article Derek Aldridge, investigates a number of issues concerning the valuation of estate claims under the Survival of Actions Act. These issues arise from two recent decisions of the Court of Appeal, in Duncan v. Baddeley and Brooks v. Stefura. Continue reading
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Selecting the Discount Rate
In this article we begin by providing clear definitions of a number of fundamental concepts. These include: real interest rate; nominal interest rate; discount rate; real return bonds; and core rate of inflation. We then summarise the recent statistical data for various measures of inflation and interest rates in Canada. Finally, we use those data… Continue reading
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The Impact of Disability on Earnings: Results of the Health and Activity Limitation Survey
This article presents some information from Statistics Canada’s Health and Activity Limitation Survey (HALS). Although HALS was one of the most comprehensive surveys ever conducted on the effects of disability, Statistics Canada has chosen to publish results from that survey in a form that is not of great value to litigators. Accordingly, HALS has become… Continue reading
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Fatal Accident Dependency Calculations
In this article Derek Aldridge examines the difference between using the sole- and cross-dependency approaches when estimating the loss of income dependency following a fatal accident. Chris Bruce wrote about this issue three years ago in the Expert Witness (Volume 1, Number 4). Derek’s article emphasises the specific differences between the calculations in the two… Continue reading
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The MacCabe Judgment: Allowing the Use of Earnings Statistics for Males When Estimating the Future Income of a Female
In this article, Derek Aldridge explains how the MacCabe judgment is important from the economist’s view. What does the judgment imply about future cases involving injured or deceased females? There are many questions unanswered. Continue reading
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Software Review: Personal Injury Damages Partner (Carswell)
In this article Derek Aldridge reviews a CD ROM titled Personal Injury Damages Partner, available from Carswell. The CD contains a searchable collection of full text and digest summaries of personal injury cases. Continue reading
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Unresolved Issues in the Valuation of Estate Claims Under Survival of Actions
In this article Derek Aldridge expands upon previous articles in our newsletter which have arisen from the Duncan v. Baddeley court of appeal decision. He raises several questions concerning the calculation of losses in light of this decision, and suggests that it may not be possible to resolve these issues until it is determined whether… Continue reading