Written on December 22, 2017.
In the recent case of House v. Baird, 2017 ONCA 885, the Court of Appeal for Ontario upheld the Trial Judge’s decision that the municipal defendant had successfully established a defence under s.5 of the Minimum Maintenance Standards, O.Reg 239/02. This is the first appellate consideration of the application of s.5 of the MMS as Read more...
Written on May 30, 2017.
The ONCA has recently dismissed the appeal by the Regional Municipality of Sudbury from a trial decision that held it liable to a plaintiff catastrophically injured in a motor vehicle accident due to alleged road non-repair, from a “re-freeze” of the roadway after it was salted. Damages in the case were agreed to be approximately Read more...
Written on May 30, 2017.
Municipalities in Ontario and their insurers should note that on July 1, 2017, new rules for “Road Building Machines” will come into effect, which will now require certain types of vehicles to be insured and their operators licensed. The following vehicles will no longer be considered road-building machines (exempt from the usual insurance requirements) and Read more...
Written on May 15, 2017.
In a recent decision in Azzeh v. Legendre, 2017 ONCA 385, the Court of Appeal for Ontario applied the notice requirement under s.44(10) to a claim by a minor represented by litigation guardian. The Court found that failing to give notice to the municipality by the Litigation Guardian by over a year, was not “reasonable” Read more...
Written on January 9, 2017.
A recent trial decision involving a trip and fall on a sidewalk surface discontinuity provides a good example of the right and wrong ways to measure a “tripper”. Although arguably misapplying, (fortunately in obiter), s.16.1 of the MMS and the “2 cm rule”, the Honourable Justice Broad did state that: “The discontinuity between the Read more...
Written on July 29, 2016.
In a recent trial decision, the Honourable Mr. Justice Sproat of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice dismissed the lawsuit of a passenger of a City of Brampton transit bus, who claimed to suffer injuries on the evening of December 7, 2011, when the operator had to brake for two unidentified persons that ran out Read more...