criminal-law canada civil-law
A dual civil lawsuit &amp; criminal case
<p>This one pertains to Canadian Law:</p>
<p>Can one have a case in which an employee for a company performed an act in malice that caused injury to a party.</p>
<p>Then that party puts forward a criminal case against the employee (for jail time), but ALSO put forward another case as civil lawsuit to the company (aiming for monetary damages), for it's lack of oversight &amp; encouraging the employee's attitude.</p>
<p>Is the party going about this the right way?</p>

<blockquote>
<p>Can one have a case in which an employee for a company performed an
act in malice that caused injury to a party.</p>
<p>Then that party puts forward a criminal case against the employee (for
jail time), but ALSO put forward another case as civil lawsuit to the
company (aiming for monetary damages), for it's lack of oversight &amp;
encouraging the employee's attitude.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The Crown (i.e. the government) prosecutes and controls a criminal case. A civil case is commenced and litigated by a private party. Generally speaking, in this situation, a private party can't initiate or control the litigation of the criminal case.</p>
<p>A private party can ask that the government bring a criminal case, but the government doesn't have to cooperate, and the private party still has no say in how the criminal case in managed.</p>
<p>Often, civil cases are stayed while a related criminal case is pending, but that is a discretionary determination made on a case by case basis by a judge in the civil case. Criminal cases are almost never stayed due to a pending civil case.</p>
<p>It isn't improper to bring a civil case regarding circumstances that are also the subject of a criminal case, however.</p>
<p>If the criminal case results in a conviction, any determinations that were necessary to that conviction are considered proved as a matter of law without any further presentation of evidence or room for appeal, in the civil case, due to a doctrine historically called &quot;collateral estoppel.&quot; This simplification of the civil case if there is a conviction is one of the reasons that the civil case is often stayed pending an outcome for the criminal case.</p>
