Category Archives: Tort News

Developments in the law of torts, not specific to insurance issues.

Cheifetz Comments on “Joint Tortfeasors” vs. “Concurrent Tortfeasors” Who Are Jointly Liable

David Cheifetz, author of the well-known text, Apportionment of Fault in Tort and of numerous articles in legal journals, is a frequent commentator about posts on this site. Today, he sent us a comment about the recent decision of the … Continue reading

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C.A. Overturns Summary Judgment Against Lessor of Car Being Operated by Unlicensed, Drunk Driver

In Henwood v. Coburn, the Court of Appeal today overturned the summary judgment that had been granted by Mr. Justice Barry MacDougall back in 2006 (see our post about the decision appealed from). In this case, a company had leased … Continue reading

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Court Holds That Plaintiff’s Rule 49 Offer Must Take Into Account Future Accident Benefits

Abel v. Hamelin Costs Reasons Our post about the Montebello Civil Litigation Conference contained a brief discussion of a recent costs decision by Mr. Justice Charles Hackland in Abel v. Hamelin. We now have a copy of the reasons and … Continue reading

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C.A. Dismisses Appeal in 9/11 Defamation Case But Recognizes “Public Interest Responsible Journalism” Defence

The Court of Appeal today released its ruling in Cusson v. Quan, Ottawa Citizen et al. The case is an important one in the law of defamation and, in particular, to defences available to the media. The court dismissed an appeal … Continue reading

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C.A. Finds Vendor of Spare Parts for Pool Liable for Failure to Warn

By a 2-1 margin, the Court of Appeal allowed an appeal by the plaintiffs and imposed liability on one of the defendants for a catastrophic swimming pool accident that had left a young girl a quadriplegic. In reaching its decision, … Continue reading

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Court of Appeal Considers Apportionment of Fault in Multi-accident Cases

The Ontario Court of Appeal today released a decision dealing with apportionment of fault in tort. In Misko v. John Doe, a unanimous court (Justices Marc Rosenberg, wrote the reasons that were concurred in by Justices Eleanor Cronk and Eileen … Continue reading

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C.A. Upholds Jury’s Dismissal of Slip and Fall Action

In Kerr v. Loblaws Inc., the Ontario Court of Appeal was asked to set aside a jury’s dismissal of a claim for personal injury damages. The plaintiff had slipped on a single grape at a Zehr’s store operated by Loblaws. … Continue reading

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C.A.’s First post-Resurfice Discussion of “But For” Causation Test

In Barker v. Montfort Hospital, released last week, the Court of Appeal had its first opportunity of considering the Supreme Court of Canada’s recent decision in Resurfice Corp. v. Hanke. (Readers will recall that in the latter case, the Supreme … Continue reading

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Court Strikes Claim for Intentional Infliction of Mental Distress

In High Parklane Consulting Inc. v. Royal Group Technologies Limited, Mr. Justice Paul Perell struck out a claim for intentional infliction of mental distress, brought by the principal of a company that was itself a plaintiff, suing for breach of … Continue reading

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Court of Appeal Re-states Test for “Nervous Shock”

Last week, the Court of Appeal released an important decision, dealing with tort liability for “nervous shock”. In Mustapha v. Culligan of Canada Ltd., the Court allowed an appeal from the trial decision of Justice John H. Brockenshire, dated April … Continue reading

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