HAPHAZARD MAINTAINANCE LEADS TO LIABILITY: Labanowicz v. Corporation of the Town of Fort Erie, 2018 ONCA 343
1.0 Overview The duty of care owed by a municipality to persons using recreational trails is set out in section 4 of the Occupiers’ Liability Act. This section provides a lesser duty of care than section 3(1) of the Act, which requires that occupiers take steps to see that persons entering on the premises are [...]
SUMMARY JUDGMENT FOR OCCUPIERS’ LIABILITY CLAIMS: A REASONABLE SYSTEM OF MAINTENANCE CAN MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE
To succeed in an occupier’s liability claim, a plaintiff must be able to point to some act or failure to act on the part of the occupier that caused the plaintiff’s injury. An occupier need not remove every possible danger – the standard of care is one of reasonableness and not perfection.
No Liability on the Path Less Taken
In The Road Not Taken, Robert Frost describes how taking the lesser-travelled of two roads that diverged in a yellow wood “made all the difference”. The recent Superior Court decision of Matthew Pierce and Robert Pierce v. City of Hamilton, 2013 ONSC 6485, gives Frost’s iconic words added meaning and prescience in municipal liability cases [...]
Liability Releases in Recreational Sports Activities Not Unconscionable
The B. C. Court of Appeal has affirmed a trial court’s decision that releases signed by plaintiffs injured on a zip-line tour were enforceable and provided a complete defence to the plaintiffs’ claims. Although decided in British Columbia, Loychuk v. Cougar Mountain Adventures Ltd.¹ provides appellate level support for Ontario lower court cases² which have [...]
The Other Guy Didn’t Add You As an Insured? What Now?
Maria Papapetrou v. 1054422 Ontario Limited, The Cora Group Inc. and Collingwood Landscape Inc.¹ We have all come across a situation where pursuant to a contract for services, A was to name B as an additional insured under its insurance policy but failed to do so. Naturally, B would then demand that A’s insurer assume [...]
Slippery Sidewalk, Eh? Better Watch Your Step!
It was a cold, grey and dreary day in the middle of an endless Toronto winter. The plaintiff, Wally (not his real name), parked his taxi cab in a parking spot on Bloor Street. He had to see his travel agent to pick up tickets for his warm-weather vacation. As he was walking past a [...]
Hospital Chair Collapses – Woman Receives Highest-Ever Chronic Pain Award
Many of the claims referred to our law firm concern chronic pain claims. The medical experts tell us that while most people who sustain soft tissue injury heal uneventfully, some people do not. Somewhere between 10 to 15 percent of persons who sustain soft tissue injuries continue to experience pain long after the original injury [...]