Category Archives: Trial Procedure

Court Ignores Past Collateral Benefits in Evaluating Rule 49 Offer

Posted on April 18, 2008 by Stephen Cavanagh

Bad news for insurers. In Ksiazek v. Newport Leasing Limited, Mr. Justice C. Raymond Harris extended the application of the Court of Appeal’s decision in Rider v. Dydyk and ruled that a defendant’s offer to settle should be compared with … Continue reading →

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Divisional Court Rules Polygraph Evidence Inadmissible in Civil Suit

Posted on March 27, 2008 by Stephen Cavanagh

In Petti v. George Coppel Jewellers Ltd., Mr. Justice Joseph W. Quinn, sitting as a judge of the Divisional Court, ordered a new trial of a Small Claims Court action, where the Deputy Judge had decided the case, in part, … Continue reading →

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Divisional Court Orders New Trial After “Offensive” Jury Address of Defence Counsel

Posted on March 4, 2008 by Stephen Cavanagh

  In Abdallah v. Snopek, the Divisional Court, by a margin of 2-1, ordered a new trial of a personal injury action arising out of a motor vehicle accident. The decision opened with the often-quoted words, “[a] jury trial is … Continue reading →

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C.A. Dismisses Appeal from Jury’s Causation Finding in MVA Case

Posted on December 10, 2007 by Stephen Cavanagh

Charge of Sproat J.pdf [UPDATE: Mr. Justice Sproat’s charge to the jury on the issue of causation has been added to this post in the link immediately above. Thanks to David Cheifetz, who received a copy of the charge from plaintiff’s … Continue reading →

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Rule 53.03 Doesn’t Apply to Expert Witnesses Not Retained for Purposes of the Litigation

Posted on November 9, 2007 by Stephen Cavanagh

Subrule 53.03(1) of the Rules of Civil Procedure provides that, “[a] party who intends to call an expert witness at trial shall, not less than 90 days before the commencement of the trial, serve on every other party to the … Continue reading →

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Motions for Non-suit a Waste of Time, Says C.A.

Posted on June 13, 2007 by Stephen Cavanagh

After yesterday’s decision by the Court of Appeal in Prudential Securities Credit Corp., LLC v. Cobrand Foods Ltd., we are unlikely to see many more motions for non-suit in this province. The Court said that the procedure “has little practical … Continue reading →

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Court Rules Evidence of Marine Accident Reconstruction Expert Inadmissible

Posted on April 22, 2007 by Stephen Cavanagh

 In Laudon v. Roberts, Mr. Justice Guy D. DiTomaso ruled that an expert witness retained by the plaintiff could not testify at trial. The action was one for personal injuries arising out of a boating accident. The plaintiff had been a passenger … Continue reading →

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Court Accepts Expert Testimony, Reduces Rule 53.09 Discount Rates for Future Health Care Expenses

Posted on February 5, 2007 by Stephen Cavanagh

In Gordon v. Greig, Justice Bruce A. Glass has assessed damages arising out of catastrophic injuries to two young men who were involved in the same motor vehicle accident. Both were awarded general non-pecuniary damages of $310,000, the maximum available … Continue reading →

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Dangerous Driving Conviction Precludes Driver from Contesting Liability in Civil Action

Posted on January 24, 2007 by Stephen Cavanagh

The decision of Mr. Justice David M. Brown in Caci v. MacArthur raises some interesting questions relating to apportionment of fault. It also applied to this MVA action a line of decisions in sexual abuse cases, where defendants had not been … Continue reading →

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Third Party Action Against Plaintiff’s Expert Dismissed on Basis of No Duty of Care and “Witness Immunity”

Posted on January 16, 2007 by Stephen Cavanagh

In an interesting decision, just released, Mr. Justice De Lotbinière Panet dismissed a third party claim brought by a defendant against an engineering firm which had provided a report to the plaintiff. Vie Holdings Inc. v. Imperial Oil Limited was … Continue reading →

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