416-703-2402 Local
1-888-378-3388 Toll Free

Monthly Archives: February 2014

Hurt Tobaggoning in Hamilton: $580,000 for Spinal Cord Injury

A family of four went tobaggoning on a reservoir property owned by the City of Hamilton, in an area where tobogganing was expressly prohibited (but this was not known by the family). After their two children went down the hill, the plaintiff father went down, hit a ridge and overturned, and badly injured himself, including a crushed L1 vertebrae, chronic pain and depression. The mother and father eventually ended their 19 year marriage alleging that the father’s changed personality after this accident was the main reason.… Continue Reading

Tags: , , ,

Hurt Tobaggoning in Hamilton: $580,000 for Spinal Cord Injury

A family of four went tobaggoning on a reservoir property owned by the City of Hamilton, in an area where tobogganing was expressly prohibited (but this was not known by the family). After their two children went down the hill, the plaintiff father went down, hit a ridge and overturned, and badly injured himself, including a crushed L1 vertebrae, chronic pain and depression. The mother and father eventually ended their 19 year marriage alleging that the father’s changed personality after this accident was the main reason.… Continue Reading

Tags: , , ,

Toronto House Destroyed by Fire: Denial Based on Contract Wording

Interesting case where the fight was over a $345,000 replacement cost provision within theresidential / homeowner’s insurance policy: Willoughby v. Pilot Insurance Company, 2014 ONSC 95 (CanLII)

There was no fight over the cause of the fire (i.e. fraud was not alleged) nor whether there was valid coverage available. Instead, the plaintiff homeowners decided to buy another home instead of building a new structure on their existing, fire-damaged lot.

It’s curious as to why this fight arose, particularly since the fire happened about 4.5 years before this summary judgment motion was heard.… Continue Reading

Faster Lawsuits: Defence Tries to Force Plaintiff to Trial Within 3.5 Months of Starting Their Lawsuit

You won’t be given relief, unless you ask….

A pretty aggressive motion by the defendants, having apparently failed to slow down one set of plaintiffs (which was ordered to Trial by Judge Snowie) led to this motion to drastically speed up the lawsuits of two other sets of plaintiffs: Chen v. Ji, 2013 ONSC 7408 (CanLII).

All 3 sets of plaintiffs were involved in the same August 2011 motor vehicle accident in Ontario. The first set started their lawsuit early and were ready to go to Trial in Jan/2014.… Continue Reading

Ontario Trial Adjournment: Personal Injury > $50,000 Costs Thrown Away

This case involves a last minute adjournment motion by the defendant (insurer) based on a medical report served by the plaintiff about 2 weeks before Trial, involving a claim for personal injury suffered in this Ontario lawsuit.

The defendant served an updated medical report about 3 weeks before Trial; it is unclear whether this was based upon a concurrent defence medical examination or whether it was an updated report based on a paper review: Quan v. Staar Surgical Company, 2014 ONSC 27 (CanLII).… Continue Reading

Tags: , , , , ,

Ontario Security For Costs: Barrier for a Plaintiff’s Lawsuit

Security for costs motions are yet another road block that personal injury plaintiffs can expect if they live outside of Canada while their tort lawsuit is active. The theory being that if you live outside the jurisdiction and the defendant successfully defeats your lawsuit, then you will be a difficult target for the defendant to ‘chase’ for payment of their legal costs for having to defend your lawsuit.

In the recent case of Kurtz v. Carquest Canada Ltd., 2013 ONSC 7683 (CanLII), this arose in the context of a wrongful dismissal lawsuit, where after the alleged dismissal, the employee moved from Canada to live in the United States.… Continue Reading

Tags: , , , , ,