Court of Appeal Confirms No Duty to Disclose Beneficiary Changes

If a client asks their investment dealer to change their account beneficiary, does the dealer need to tell the beneficiary? Firms will be relieved by the Ontario Court of Appeal’s decision in Fair v. BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc., 2022 ONCA 711, which confirmed the answer is no (with some qualifications). In this case, the client Lloyd Fair changed the beneficiary on his TFSA and RIF account from his wife Anne to his children from an earlier marriage. He did not tell Anne, who held other accounts in her own name at BMO naming Lloyd as beneficiary. BMO also did not ... [more] Full article
Superior Court refuses leave to securities class action based on the difference between “Material Facts” and “Material Changes”
In a recent decision declining to grant leave under Part XXIII.1 of the Securities Act to proceed with a proposed class action on behalf of purchasers of securities on the ... [more] Full article
Ontario’s top court reinstates securities class action against Cannabis company
In Reasons released on September 26 in Badeesha v. Cronos Group Inc., the Court of Appeal for Ontario unanimously overturned a decision refusing to grant leave to proceed with a ... [more] Full article
Fiduciary Duty for advisors not created by “Best Interest” standard alone
The Ontario Divisional Court recently confirmed the dismissal of a certification motion against an investment dealer and two individual advisors for breach of fiduciary duty. In Boal v. International Capital ... [more] Full article
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