Appeal Court Confirms The Narrow Scope Of The 'Forum Of Necessity' Doctrine

Can a Court assume jurisdiction over a claim when there is no "real and substantial" connection between the claim, the defendant and the forum? The Ontario Court of Appeal recognized such a theoretical possibility, on the basis of the so-called "forum of necessity" doctrine, in its decision in Van Breda v. Village Resorts Ltd., 2010 ONCA 84. On further appeal, the Supreme Court of Canada did not directly address this doctrine but left room for its "possible application" in the future: 2012 SCC 17 at para. 100. The Ontario Court of Appeal recently revisited and defined the parameters of the forum of necessity in West Van Inc. v. Daisley, 2014 ONCA 232.

In West Van, the plaintiff sought to sue, in Ontario, a North Carolina attorney and law firm for alleged professional negligence in a North Carolina...