Carnovale v. Longo Brothers Fruit Markets Inc., 2017 ONSC 4131

The Plaintiff brought an action in relation to a slip and fall incident at a Longo’s grocery store. The Defendants moved for summary judgment on the basis that there was no genuine issues requiring a trial. Justice Diamond ruled in favour of the Defendants and held that the video of the incident showed that the dimensions of the curb were not causally related to the Plaintiff’s fall. Justice Diamond was critical of the evidence put forward by the Plaintiff, particularly the lack of an affidavit setting out her first-hand evidence that could support expert opinion regarding the cause of the fall. Rather, Plaintiff’s counsel submitted an affidavit attaching a copy of the Plaintiff’s transcript from her discovery. Justice Diamond held that this was in violation of the Rules of Civil Procedure and was inadequate to discharge the Plaintiff’s onus “to lead trump” on the motion.