Thomas Gold Pettingill LLP is pleased to provide this online resource to our clients. Below is a searchable database of key cases impacting the defence of commercial and tort litigation. Assembled by Sarah Jones, Natasha O'Toole, and Chris Schnarr, each case is reviewed, briefly summarized, and categorized for easy access.
This is a personal injury action arising from a motor vehicle accident involving a young pedestrian. The defendant brought a motion seeking an Order compelling the plaintiffs to answer refusals arising from a cross-examination of their lawyer. At its crux, the motion concerned whether the plaintiffs had to disclose and produce any applicable adverse costs...
This personal injury action arises from a slip and fall in a marked pedestrian crosswalk during a winter weather event. The plaintiff sued the property owner, property manager, and winter maintenance contractor. The action proceeded to trial on liability alone (the parties reached an agreement on the quantum of damages). Justice Henderson held that the...
The plaintiff fell during the winter when she stepped off of a municipal sidewalk onto the snow covered front lawn of the property abutting the sidewalk to get around a group of people waiting for a bus. She tripped over a tree root and fell, injuring herself. The plaintiff notified the City of the incident...
The plaintiff was injured in a motor vehicle accident in October 2011. He took out five litigation loans from BridgePoint totaling $65,500. The loans had compound interest rates ranging from 20% to 24%. The plaintiff settled his accident benefits claim for $1.25 million. His tort action was dismissed due to contempt of an order to...
The plaintiff’s home was damaged following a large rainfall in spring 2017. The previous owner had built a rear addition on the home in 1981. The City of Vaughan issued a building permit to the previous owner without obtaining the approval of the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TCRA) as required by applicable legislation. The...
The plaintiff tripped over sandals during a visit to the home of her sister (Elizabeth) and brother-in law (Daniel). Elizabeth had left the sandals on the back stoop, and the plaintiff broke her ankle when she fell over them. The plaintiff sued Daniel pursuant to the Occupiers’ Liability Act, alleging that he did not take...
In this decision, Justice Muszynski dismissed a motion brought by the plaintiffs at the outset of trial to adduce expert evidence from three experts whose reports were served outside the timeline contemplated by the Rules of Civil Procedure. The plaintiffs served the expert reports on June 22, 2023. The pre-trial conference took place on July...
The plaintiff was injured in a 2013 motorcycle accident and commenced this action in 2015. Two defendants (the driver and owner of a transport truck) were named as John Does. The plaintiff also sued Intact pursuant to OPCF44 coverage. The plaintiff was examined for discovery in 2016 and set the matter down for trial in...
This personal injury action arises from a motor vehicle accident that occurred when the defendant vehicle crossed into an oncoming traffic lane and struck the plaintiff vehicle. The defendants brought a motion for summary judgment seeking dismissal of the action on the grounds that the defendant driver could not have avoided the accident because she...
The plaintiff sued the City for property damages arising from drainage issues. The City argued that the 2-year limitation period barred the claim, and that the 15-year ultimate limitation period also barred the claim because the storm sewers in question were installed in 2002. Justice Bordin granted the motion on both grounds. Regarding the ultimate...
The minor plaintiff was attacked by a dog while visiting the residence of the defendant tenants with her parents. The landlord defendants, who owned the home, were not present at the time of the attack. The landlord defendants brought a summary judgment motion on the basis that the Dog Owners’ Liability Act (DOLA) places liability...
This action arises from a rear end motor vehicle accident. The at-fault driver was operating a transport truck. The tractor portion was registered to Orchid Leasing Corp., however as of the time of the accident the tractor’s driver had made final payment on the lease, had received a bill of sale and ownership documentation, and...
This action arises from an accident between a pedestrian and a motor vehicle. The plaintiff was crossing a crosswalk and was struck by a turning vehicle. The driver was charged under the Highway Traffic Act for making an unsafe turn. He pleaded guilty and was convicted of the charge. He conceded his negligence in the...
This action arose from an accident wherein the plaintiff fell off his motorcycle due to a longitudinal discontinuity or lip in the pavement of a municipal roadway. At trial, Justice Krawchenko found that the existence of the discontinuity at an irregularly angled intersection created a risk of harm to ordinary reasonable drivers such as the...
Following a four-week MVA jury trial, the plaintiffs were awarded $652,521 in damages by the jury. The plaintiffs recovered only $191,228.65 after application of statutory deductibles. The plaintiffs claimed costs and disbursements totaling $461,844.66. The defendant claimed costs totaling $178,803.71. One month before trial, the defendant had made an offer to settle for $250,000. The...
BACKGROUND The claim involved an eleven year-old plaintiff named Audrey Serravalle. She was struck by the defendant, Thomas Duggan (“Mr. Duggan”), when she was a crossing a residential road on May 17, 2018. Mr. Duggan was travelling eastbound and crossed the yellow line to pass a garbage truck that had stopped in the eastbound lane....
The plaintiffs sued various defendants after they purchased a home with alleged defects. One of the defendants, the City of Toronto, opened building permits related to the property in 1987 and 2017. The plaintiffs purchased the home in 2019. The City brought a motion under r. 21.01(1)(a) to strike the claims arising from the 1987...
A two year old toddler had an accidental death while in the care of her father. The toddler's mother, the toddler’s brother, and the toddler’s estate sued the father and another adult who was present at the time for damages. Justice Leroy held that the father was negligent. Justice Leroy awarded FLA general damages related...
The plaintiff was involved in a relatively minor motor vehicle accident in 2015. She had been in a more serious accident in 2012 for which she was at fault. The plaintiff argued that she had been 80 to 90 percent recovered by the time of the 2015 accident. She returned to work for three years,...
This action arises from a 2020 motor vehicle accident. The plaintiff brought an ex parte motion seeking an order for substituted service of the statement of claim on the defendant driver by serving his automobile liability insurer. The insurer took no position on the motion. Justice Trimble dismissed the motion for two reasons: (1) the...
Shortly after her 30th birthday, the plaintiff was injured at a bar where bocce was played near an outdoor patio seating area. The defendant Goulet tossed a ball to a friend standing near the plaintiff. The friend did not know the ball had been thrown to him and it hit the plaintiff in the back...
