The plaintiff sustained injuries in a motor vehicle accident and commenced an action for damages. The defence served surveillance on plaintiffs’ counsel 7 and 4 days before trial. A number of surveillance reports from earlier periods had already been served well before trial. The most recent surveillance captured the plaintiff’s use of a snow blower and shovel, the plaintiff climbing a ladder. Most of these activities were also seen in the earlier surveillance reports. Justice Fowler Byrne held that leave was not required to use the surveillance for impeachment purposes, but it was required for substantive purposes. Plaintiff’s counsel sought a three month adjournment of the trial. Justice Fowler Byrne granted a one week adjournment and gave the defendants leave to rely upon the surveillance for substantive purposes. However, admissibility of video evidence for any purpose was subject to a mid-trial ruling on admissibility on voir dire.
