obtained an injunction against Proposed government Legislation that denied youth raised in care continued emotional and financial support as they transitioned to independent adulthood

In a constitutional challenge against the Province of Alberta’s attempt to amend the maximum age eligibility for emotional and financial supports that former children in care are entitled to in transitioning to independent adulthood, Nanda & Company obtained an emergency injunction that prohibits the Province from applying the changes to the statutory regime to youth already in the program until the constitutionality of the proposed amendments are decided by a court.

A.C. and J.F. v Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Alberta (ABQB File No. 2003 04825)

arguing that section 24(1) charter relief should be available to public interest standing litigants

As counsel to the intervenor the Canadian Prison Law Association in the Court of Appeal of British Columbia’s consideration of the constitutionality of the use of administrative segregation in federal prisons, Nanda & Company argued that the principle of legality and development in the area of public interest standing litigation should allow public interest standing litigants to obtain section 24(1) Charter remedies.

British Columbia Civil Liberties Association v Canada (Attorney General), 2019 BCCA 228 at ¶¶240-272.

Canadian Prison Law Association Factum

Resisted canada’s attempt to stay test case on prisoners’ rights

Nanda & Company resisted the Attorney General of Canada’s attempt to stay a test case on whether a successful habeas corpus application that returns a prisoner from administrative segregation to the general population of a prison can establish a basis for a civil damages claim.

Hamm v Canada (Attorney General), 2019 ABQB 913

defended the right of foreign nationals to sue a Canadian private vocational college and its owners for misleading them on their eligibility for the pgwp upon graduation

Nanda & Company acts for dozens of foreign nationals who enrolled in Solomon College for the chance of becoming eligible for a two-year open work permit known as the Post Graduate Work Permit (PGWP) after graduation. However, these graduates from Solomon College were not eligible for the PGWP. A proposed class proceeding was commenced on behalf of the students seeking damages for Solomon College’s wrongful conduct in deceiving them to believe that they would be eligible for the PGWP upon graduation. Solomon College brought an application to strike the claim, but Nanda & Company successfully resisted the application, and the students were found to have a basis to sue not only the corporations involved in the alleged scheme, but also the individual owners of Solomon College in their personal capacity.

For more information on this proposed class proceeding, please visit our dedicated website to this case.

Falgui v Solomon College Ltd, 2019 ABQB 404

Foreign students claim they were misled about chances of staying in Canada

Foreign students file lawsuit against private Edmonton college, immigration consultant

Foreign students who want to stay in Canada go to court as last resort

False promises: Foreign workers are falling prey to a sprawling web of labour trafficking in Canada

Clarifying disclosure obligations for statutory appeals under alberta’s election Act

Nanda & Company successfully argued that statutory appeals commenced pursuant to section 153.1 of the Election Act require Alberta’s Chief Electoral Officer to reveal all relevant and material information that comprises the certified record relied upon to issue an administrative penalty, including information deemed “private and confidential.”

Campbell v Alberta (Chief Electoral Officer), 2018 ABQB 248

Helping individuals falsely imprisoned by the state Obtain financial compensatioN for the deprivation of their personal liberty

Nanda & Company is one of the few firms in Alberta that acts in correctional and police accountability matters against the state. Recently, the firm represented a young man who was illegally imprisoned by the Province of Alberta for nearly 3 days. The firm acted swiftly to ensure that the man asserted his right to damages for the loss of his liberty and negotiated a settlement that far exceeded the client's expectations.

respecting first nations sovereignty over reserve land taxation and on-reserve economic development

Nanda & Company acted for the Council for the Advancement of Native Development Officers (Cando) in Musqueam Indian Band v. Musqueam Indian Band Board of Review, et al., an appeal before the Supreme Court of Canada concerning the governmental authority of First Nations to tax reserve lands and the interpretation of a specific provision of the Musqueam reserve land taxation bylaw. The firm argued on behalf Cando that the Court must engage in a purposive interpretation of the provision in dispute. A purposive interpretation requires the court to recognize and incorporate the fact that the purpose behind the broader legislative framework is to provide First Nations the mechanism to tax reserve lands in order to foster the principles of First Nations sovereignty and greater control over on-reserve economic activity.

Council for the Advancement of Native Development Officers Factum in Musqueam Indian Band v. Musqueam Indian Band Board of Review, et al.

protecting the right to free democratic expression in the face of civil contempt actions

In April 2016, Nanda & Company appeared before the Supreme Court of Canada on behalf of the Alberta Public Interest Research Group in Jean-François Morasse v Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, an important public law appeal involving statements made by a leader of the 2012 Quebec student protests. At issue in the appeal is the court's inherent jurisdiction over contempt powers and how these powers can impinge an individual's free expression — a right protected by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The firm argued that courts must exercise their contempt powers in a manner that respects Charter values, including free expression. In order to assist in the exercise of these powers, the firm proposed that the Supreme Court of Canada adopt the Dagenais framework to balance the rule of law with the protection of civil liberties when deciding civil contempt proceedings that impact an individual's right to free expression.

Alberta Public Interest Research Group Factum in Jean-François Morasse v Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois.

Pre-Judgement Relief: Attaching Assets of a business partnership in the midst of a partnership disagreement

Nanda & Company acts for an individual involved in a dispute with its partners in a commercial enterprise. After the Defendants attempted to dissolve the partnership and collect the partnership's assets, the firm moved quickly to attach the assets of the partnership in order to ensure that the client's interests and basis for recovery were secured. Obtaining an attachment order in this context — a form of pre-judgment relief where a significant remedy is granted pending final determination of the merits of a claim — is rare, and requires specialized legal knowledge and experience. Please contact our office if you require assistance obtaining similar pre-judgment relief.

Roth v Garber, 2016 ABQB 103

helping Persecuted SEXUAL MINORITIES obtain refugee protection in canada

In January 2016, Nanda & Company appeared before the Refugee Protection Division (RPD) and obtained a positive decision on behalf of a gay man from Pakistan seeking refugee status in Canada. The man initially arrived in Canada on a work permit, which was not extended on renewal, requiring him to leave the country. Fearing the consequences of returning to Pakistan — a country that criminalizes homosexuality, and where sexual minorities face widespread discrimination and are routinely subject to violence — the man filed a refugee claim. In its decision, the RPD accepted the submission that dominant understandings of homosexuality in Canada may differ from understandings of homosexuality and gay lifestyles in Pakistan.

DEFENDING A FAMILY-RUN SMALL BUSINESS AGAINST A BILLION DOLLAR PUBLIC CORPORATION

In October 2015, Nanda & Company obtained judgment against Canada's largest independent fuel wholesaler on behalf of a family-run small business that operates a gas station in rural Alberta. On the pretence that the family's business had signed a binding Letter of Intent, the wholesaler argued that both the business and members of the family were liable for breaching a $20,000,000.00 agreement. The firm brought a summary judgment application arguing that the Letter of Intent was not binding. The Alberta Court of Queen's Bench agreed, granting the family's business judgment in the approximate amount of $133,000.00.

Letter of Intent: Binding Agreement or Agreement to Agree? (November 10, 2015)

Civil liability before criminal liability

The firm recently established a precedent in the area of wrongful death claims in Alberta. In a particularly challenging case involving the death of a family member during a domestic abuse episode, a claim was commenced on behalf of a minor against his mother for the wrongful death of his father. It was successfully argued on summary judgment application that the mother caused the wrongful death of the father, and should be liable to the son for bereavement damages and disentitled to any part of the deceased's estate, including a joint tenancy interest in the family home. The court made this determination summarily, and prior to any findings of criminal liability.

Edmonton woman charged with second-degree murder in husband’s death, (August 28, 2013)

LITIGATING DEATH IN CARE CLAIMS

Far too many children die in care in Alberta, often through preventable means. The firm has a special interest in representing families who have had children die in provincial care. By litigating these cases, the firm strives to assist families in pushing for systemic reform of the child protective services system in Alberta. Our firm has experience navigating the obstacles and uncertainties that arise with such claims. We have successfully pursued high profile death in care actions in the past, and have developed effective claims and strategies in this area of law.

Litigating Death in Care Cases in Alberta, (September 2, 2015; ABlawg.ca)