Corner Brook (City) v. Bailey, 2021 SCC 29, a case successfully argued by St. John’s lawyers Erin Best and Giles Ayers, has been named as a Lexpert “Top 10 business decision of 2020 – 2021”. The unanimous decision by the Supreme Court of Canada is relevant to anyone drafting or signing a release in Canada, clarifying the 150-year-old Blackmore Rule which was sometimes used to radically limit the scope of a release, even if the parties used broad language in its drafting.

Cases chosen for this list must have been a written decision from a Canadian appellate court, federal court, superior court or administrative tribunal released between November 1, 2020 and September 30, 2021, and address an area of law pertinent to the business community. When asked about the impact of this case, Erin and Giles stated, “fewer litigants will question the meaning of certain release provisions, which means there will be less litigation regarding the interpretation of releases in Canada. When litigants do appear before the courts, they will no longer muddy the waters with arguments about the confusing and outdated Blackmore Rule.”