The plaintiff was injured when he fell 15 feet into a rocky creek bed while taking a shortcut over a railway trestle. He sustained serious injuries and sued Canadian National Railway (which owned the railway lands) and the City of Quinte West (which conducted certain lawn maintenance on adjacent land). The plaintiff sued the City on the basis that it ought to have made access to the railway lands more difficult. The plaintiff’s primary argument against the City turned on the City having mowed a large patch of grass that led to the rail lands.
The City brought motion for summary judgment, which CNR did not oppose. Justice MacLeod granted the City’s motion and dismissed the claim against it. He found that there could be no liability against the City as it did not occupy the land in question had no other duty of care with respect to the CN lands. Further, the City did nothing on adjoining lands which created a hazard of materially increased the risk of injury.