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.
The plaintiff fell on a sewer grate hole and sued the City of Kingston for damages. The City brought a summary judgment motion, in which it relied on an expert report which concluded that the sewer grate met the applicable Ontario Provincial Standards Drawing when it was installed in 2001. Justice Rogers dismissed the motion,...
The plaintiff, his wife, and their three children were injured in a motor vehicle accident. They all commenced litigation. The plaintiff was driving at the time of the accident, so he had different counsel than his wife and children. The plaintiff initially claimed for only his own injuries/damages. The wife and children claimed for their...
This action arises from a motor vehicle accident. The statement of claim was issued in September 2016 and sought damages in the sum of $750,000.00. In February 2021 the plaintiff brought a motion seeking for the trial to proceed under Rule 76 Simplified Procedure, and to strike the jury. The plaintiff argued that his injuries...
The plaintiff was injured at his commercial horse stable. He alleged that his injuries were caused by the defendant’s horse, which he had been hired to stable and care for. The plaintiff had no memory of the incident and there were no witnesses to it. He was found on the ground with blood dripping from...
The Ontario Superior Court of Justice recently released the decision of Polgampalage v. Devani, where Justice Myers dismissed a consent motion to move a trial from Windsor to Toronto. Justice Myers noted that the affidavit drafted in support of the motion failed to provide the evidence necessary in order to meet the requirements of Rule...
In Louis v. Poitras, the Ontario Court of Appeal considered the fundamental changes that are being proposed for the civil justice system. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, trial courts have necessarily had to prioritize criminal and family law cases to the detriment of civil cases’ timely resolution. The 10-week jury trial in this...
The plaintiff was injured in a motor vehicle accident. He took early retirement under his union pension plan, and began receiving benefits at age 58 (rather than 65). The plan entitled a person of age 55 or older to take early retirement if he or she became totally and permanent disabled. The defendant asserted that...
The plaintiff settled with only one of the two defendants in the action. The terms of settlement involved the settling defendant reversing its pleaded position, switching sides, and joining cause with the plaintiff. The plaintiff and the settling defendant failed to immediately disclose the settlement to the non-settling defendant. Certain aspects of the settlement were...
The plaintiffs purchased a cottage property in the Township of Lake of Bays in 1999. The previous owner/seller had built the cottage between 1989 and 1991. The Township performed inspections around the time of the build. The plaintiffs initiated renovations to the cottage in 2012. During the renovation process, several latent defects were discovered and...
The plaintiffs were involved in two accidents: one took place in Ontario, and the other took place in Georgia, USA. They commenced an Ontario action for damages in relation to both accidents. The Georgia defendants brought a motion to dismiss the action as against them on the basis that Ontario courts did not have jurisdiction...
The defendants brought a motion to bifurcate the determination of liability and damages, which the plaintiff opposed. The Master granted the motion, which decision was upheld by Superior Court and Divisional Court. The Court of Appeal overturned the decision, holding that the Rules did not permit a Court to bifurcate liability and damages in a...
The plaintiff was injured in an assault by two unidentified assailants in the stairwell of a municipal parking garage. The City and the security company argued that they were not liable to the plaintiff for his injuries. Justice Turnbull held that the City and the security company were not liable. He held that the City...
The plaintiff truck driver alleged that he tripped and fell on uneven ground when he attended the defendant's premises to pick up a load. He alleged to have sustained serious injuries, and brought an action for damages. He did not advise the defendant of the incident until he served his statement of claim. There were...
Under O. Reg 73/20, all limitation periods in Ontario were suspended from March 16, 2020 to September 14, 2020. The Attorney General and interveners asked the court to make a declaration of right to clarify that the six month period of the temporary suspension is not to be counted in the calculation of the limitation...
The plaintiffs in this class action are Mr. Sub franchisees. At the material time they were bound through a chain of indirect contracts to purchase meat product exclusively from the defendant Maple Leaf Foods (although there was no contractual privity between Maple Leaf and the franchisees). After a recall of Maple Leaf meat products due...
The plaintiff attended a heavy metal concert and shortly after the music started, he was found lying on the ground severely injured and surrounded by a crowd of people. The incident resulted in his quadriplegia. He sued multiple defendants, including the relevant venue and security company, for alleged negligence, occupiers' liability, and breach of the...
The plaintiff was in a motor vehicle accident while a passenger in his brother's vehicle in Alberta. The plaintiff ordinarily resided in Ontario and his brother resided in Alberta. The plaintiff commenced an action for damages arising from personal injuries in Ontario. The defendant brother brought a motion to stay the action, arguing that Ontario...
At age 14 the plaintiff was injured at a community centre operated by the City of Toronto, when a person using the telephone in a staff office broke the glass portion of the office door. The plaintiff was nearby and glass struck her, rendering her legally blind in her left eye. At trial, the judge...
The 58 year old plaintiff sued the estate of his older brother for sex abuse that occurred during childhood. The estate was noted in default. Justice Corthorn accepted that the plaintiff had proven his case and awarded general damages of $275,000.00, damages of psychotherapy of $45,000.00, and punitive damages of $25,000.00. The plaintiff had not...
The plaintiff was injured in an incident in 2010 and commenced an action for damages in 2012. The defendants filed a jury notice. But for the COVID-19 pandemic, the trial would have proceeded in October 2020. The parties were told by the Court in June 2020 that if the action proceeded by judge alone it...
The plaintiff brought a motion to strike the defendants' jury notice on the basis of the pandemic-related delay that would result in bringing the matter to trial with a jury as compared to a judge-alone trial. The Court confirmed that the trial could proceed virtually at any time if it were heard by a judge-alone,...
