Congratulations to Jennifer D. Pereira, K.C. for receiving the Justice W. Frank Gerein Memorial Award

Established in 2017 by the Saskatchewan Trial Lawyers Association (STLA), the Justice W. Frank Gerein Memorial Award honours members of the profession who have made outstanding contributions to the legal community through involvement in voluntary and cause-related legal work; have demonstrated professional excellence in legal practice through examples of quality legal services, client relations, innovative programs; have promoted, encouraged or influenced students, graduates or practitioners; and, have demonstrated civility in their dealings with other counsel and the Bench. The 2023 recipient of the Justice W. Frank Gerein Memorial Award is Jennifer Pereira. For more information about the STLA and their honours, click here.

Related News and Articles

Jennifer Pereira, Q.C. presented Community Service Award

Congratulations to Jennifer Pereira, Q.C. on her recognition by The Canadian Bar Association (Saskatchewan Branch) with the Community Service Award. The Community Service Award recognizes lawyers for their outstanding dedication, service and commitment to the...

read more

Join Tiffany Paulsen, K.C. for Women in the Lead: Navigating the Political Labyrinth

Join Tiffany Paulsen, K.C., for Women in the Lead: Navigating the Political Labyrinth

Wednesday, October 4, 2023

4:00 – 6:00 pm Networking to follow

Join Tiffany Paulen, K.C., on October 4 for Women in the Lead: Navigating the Political Labyrinth. Hosted by Business & Professional Women Saskatoon and in collaboration with the Greater Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce, Tiffany and other local women will talk about their journeys in politics. To register, click here.

Related News and Articles

Tiffany Paulsen, K.C. to Participate in Family Law Panel

Join Tiffany Paulsen, K.C., at the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Law on October 25, 2022, where she will participate in a panel discussion entitled Using Data and Design for Action: Next Steps For Family Justice in Saskatchewan. The discussion will include...

read more

Questioning for Family Lawyers

Join Tiffany Paulsen, Q.C. and other seasoned litigators to break down their most effective questioning techniques, providing you with the tools, tips and strategies you need to get the most out of your next questioning. Find out how to gather information, obtain...

read more

Join Tiffany Paulsen, K.C. at Limited Scope Legal Services Webinar

Join Tiffany Paulsen, K.C. at Limited Scope Legal Services Webinar

Wednesday, March 22

12:00 pm – 1:00 pm CST

Members of the Law Society of Saskatchewan are invited to a free webinar on Limited Scope Retainers. This virtual lunch and learn gives lawyers the opportunity to hear from panelists including Tiffany Paulsen, K.C who will discuss questions and suggestions that arose from last year’s Boot Camp for Limited Legal Scope Practitioners. To register for the webinar, click here.

Related News and Articles

Tiffany Paulsen, K.C. to Participate in Family Law Panel

Join Tiffany Paulsen, K.C., at the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Law on October 25, 2022, where she will participate in a panel discussion entitled Using Data and Design for Action: Next Steps For Family Justice in Saskatchewan. The discussion will include...

read more

Questioning for Family Lawyers

Join Tiffany Paulsen, Q.C. and other seasoned litigators to break down their most effective questioning techniques, providing you with the tools, tips and strategies you need to get the most out of your next questioning. Find out how to gather information, obtain...

read more

Sean Sinclair to Speak at CBA (Saskatchewan) Family Law Section Meeting

Members of the CBA (Saskatchewan) Family Law section are invited to join Sean Sinclair on March 7, 2023. Sean will be discussing legal claims related to the non-consensual distribution of intimate images.

Sean successfully represented a client in a recent lawsuit dealing with the non-consensual distribution of intimate images and videos.  The case was a first of its kind in Saskatchewan and resulted in the largest damages award in Canadian history against a distributor of revenge porn.

For more information about the educational session and to register, click here.

Related News and Articles

Sean Sinclair Fights to Open Court File

Sean Sinclair, representing the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and the Globe & Mail, brought a successful court application to open up part of a court file about the residential school system settlement. Sean was quoted in the related news story saying, "I...

read more

Sinclair appointed to the Law Foundation of Saskatchewan

Sean Sinclair has been appointed to the board of directors of the Law Foundation of Saskatchewan.  The Law Foundation of Saskatchewan serves an important role in promoting access to justice by funding organizations involved with legal education, legal research, legal aid, law libraries and law reform. 

read more

Internet and Social Media Defamation

I commonly receive telephone calls related to internet and social media defamation. The internet and social media are ripe with slanderous statements posted by people who perceive they have absolute anonymity. These posts can impact people’s careers, their families,...

read more

Can I Keep My Engagement Ring?

Upon the breakdown of a marriage, there are defined laws addressing how marital property is to be divided. But what happens if an engagement doesn’t result in marriage? And who gets to keep the engagement ring?

Each province addresses ring ownership upon the breakdown of an engagement differently. Theoretically, courts have grappled with the concept of gifting and whether an engagement ring should be considered an absolute or conditional gift. Courts have even imported contract law principles in their determination of ownership.

The relative lack of clarity with which this area has been approached by the courts and in the common law has led to some jurisdictions drafting legislation to deal with gifts exchanged before marriage.

For example, section 33 of Ontario’s Marriage Act has codified the common law principle that fault may not be considered where an engagement ring is given in contemplation of marriage or given as a “conditional gift”:

Where one person makes a gift to another in contemplation of or conditional upon their marriage to each other and the marriage fails to take place or is abandoned, the question of whether or not the failure or abandonment was caused by or was the fault of the donor shall not be considered in determining the right of the donor to recover the gift.

A simple application is: if no marriage follows, the ring must be returned to the donor. The justification being that return of the ring puts both parties in the position they were in before the engagement.

Other jurisdictions do not have similar legislation and remain bound by common law. Saskatchewan courts continue to follow precedents which retain historical foundations from 1917 (see Jacobs v Davis, [1917] 2 K.B. 532 at p. 533). Despite the old principle being adapted to apply to all relationships (not just those between a man and a woman), the basic idea is this:

If an individual who has received a ring refuses to fulfill the condition of the gift, they must return it. On the other hand, if the donor of the ring, without “recognized legal justification”, refuses to carry out their promise of marriage, they cannot demand the return of the engagement ring. It does not matter if the breaking of the promise turns out to be the ultimate advantage of both parties (D’Andrea v Schmidt, 2005 SKQB 201).

The legal effect of this common-law principle means that practically, if you break off an engagement, you are not entitled to the ring. Using the heteronormative example, boy proposes to girl, girl ends engagement, he gets to demand return of the ring. Alternatively, boy proposes to girl, boy ends engagement, she gets to keep the ring. In a way, the court has imported some level of fault (at least relating to the relationship ending) as being relevant in determining ring ownership.

As always in the law, there may be exceptions to the rule, but it is easy to see that certain inequities may exist where legislation is strictly adopted. Concepts of fairness may be compromised where a donor is allowed to demand the return of a ring, despite otherwise questionable actions or behaviours leading to the breakdown of an engagement. Alternatively, punishing an engagement ender by denying them the ability to retain an engagement ring might swing too far in the other direction, especially when considering the potential magnitude of cost.

A final option is that an engagement ring may be treated as a true and perfected gift. A judge may consider this the case where the donor says, “even if we never get married, this is a gift to you to remain yours”. This leaves no condition to be ‘fulfilled,’ and the recipient would likely retain ownership of the ring.

Despite this confusing and inconsistent area of the law, courts are apt to consider each case on its merits. We recommend seeking professional legal advice where there are questions related to engagement ring ownership.

This article is intended to provide legal information only, not legal advice.

For further information, please contact:

Tessa Wall
Student at Law
Direct: 306-933-1368
Email: [email protected]

Related News and Articles

Family Violence in Family Law

When asked to make a parenting order, courts will consider family violence as a factor relating to the child’s circumstances and, ultimately, their best interests. But what if the evidence is controverted? One consideration is credibility. In assessing the appropriate...

read more

Can I quit my job to avoid paying my ex child support?

The answer is no, probably not. If a payor is seeking to quit their job simply to avoid paying child support, this is likely a non-starter. However, if a payor’s reduction in income falls within one of the reasonable exceptions, and evidence supporting this is...

read more

What You Need to Know About New Assisted Reproduction Laws

The Children’s Law Act, 2020 has recently come into place in Saskatchewan. This has updated the laws relating to decision-making and parenting time of children.  However, this article focuses on the changes made to assisted reproduction in Saskatchewan. The new...

read more

Binding Pre-trial Conferences in Family Law Proceedings

In October, 2020 the Queen’s Bench Rules were amended to enable parties in Family law proceedings to participate in “Binding Pre-trial Conferences.” For background, a typical Pre-trial Conference is intended to facilitate the resolution of a family law matter, or if...

read more

Binding Pre-Trial Conferences: What You Need to Know

Binding pre-trial conferences are a relatively new process option in Saskatchewan, which are available in civil law matters, including family law. Given that there have been few conducted in Saskatchewan to date, there are few decisions from the Court discussing your options if you are dissatisfied with the outcome. A recent decision, Nemetchek v Nemetchek, 2022 SKQB 165 (“Nemetchek”), provides valuable insight. The case may be found here: 

https://www.canlii.org/en/sk/skqb/doc/2022/2022skqb165/2022skqb165.html?autocompleteStr=2022%20SKQB%20165&autocompletePos=1

As background, a pre-trial conference is the final stage in a court proceeding before a trial of the matter, where a judge makes a final decision for the parties. 

The pre-trial conference is the parties’ last court-facilitated option to settle the matter prior to proceeding to a trial. A judge is present at pre-trials to hear the parties’ respective positions on the issues and offer insight to try and move the parties toward settlement. If the parties cannot reach an agreement at the pre-trial, they move on to a trial. The judge does not make a decision. 

However, in general civil and family law matters, binding pre-trials are now available under parts 4 and 15 of The King’s Bench Rules of Saskatchewan. The binding pre-trial functions similarly to a regular pre-trial, as described above, except that if the parties do not reach an agreement, they leave it to the judge to make a final decision on the matter. Rather than proceeding to a trial, the pre-trial judge makes the call. This can save parties ample time and money in avoiding the trial process while still being provided with a final decision from a judge. 

One important thing to bear in mind when considering a binding pre-trial is the nature of the issues in your case. A judge is limited in their ability to assess credibility since the parties do not provide sworn evidence to the Court as they would during a trial, where they provide verbal testimony under oath. Therefore, if there are conflicting stories between the parties, a binding pre-trial may not be a good fit for your case since the judge is limited in their ability to assess credibility to determine who is more believable.    

Another consideration is that your ability to appeal a decision resulting from a binding pre-trial is very limited. You must seek permission from the judge who made the decision in order to appeal it, which is not likely to be granted absent an obvious error. If you proceed to trial instead of a binding pre-trial, you would be able to appeal the decision much more easily. 

On this note, an appeal of a binding pre-trial decision cannot be brought under the guise that you are seeking clarification regarding the decision or that you think parts of the decision were wrongly decided. In Nemetchek, the husband asked the Court to “revisit” aspects of the decision reached at the conclusion of the binding pre-trial, essentially asking the judge to revise her decision in the husband’s favour.  

The Court concluded that writing to the Court to “clarify” parts of a decision was unacceptable. Further, while a judgment may be amended to correct clerical errors, accidental slips, or inadvertent omissions, the process cannot be used to reconsider a decision on the merits as the husband sought to do.  

In short, you cannot request a judge to reconsider a binding pre-trial decision simply because you are unhappy with the results.

The Court concluded that the application was unnecessary and without merit, awarding costs of $3,000 against the husband to be paid to the wife.

This article is intended to provide legal information only, not legal advice. 

For further information, please contact:

Curtis P. Clavelle
Direct: 306-933-1341
Email: [email protected]

Related News and Articles

Questioning for Family Lawyers

Join Tiffany Paulsen, Q.C. and other seasoned litigators to break down their most effective questioning techniques, providing you with the tools, tips and strategies you need to get the most out of your next questioning. Find out how to gather information, obtain...

read more

Family Violence in Family Law

When asked to make a parenting order, courts will consider family violence as a factor relating to the child’s circumstances and, ultimately, their best interests. But what if the evidence is controverted? One consideration is credibility. In assessing the appropriate...

read more

Can I quit my job to avoid paying my ex child support?

The answer is no, probably not. If a payor is seeking to quit their job simply to avoid paying child support, this is likely a non-starter. However, if a payor’s reduction in income falls within one of the reasonable exceptions, and evidence supporting this is...

read more

Area of ExpertiseFamily Law