For the insurance bar, two points are worth noting in Justice Faieta’s decision in Buurman v. The Dominion of Canada General Insurance Company. First, the limitation periods in section 5.9.3 of OAP 1, section 8(3) of the Schedule to Ontario Regulation 676,… Continue Reading
You can’t amend a claim to assert a new cause of action if the cause of action is statute-barred. The question is, when’s an amendment a new cause of action? In Beauchamp v. Gervais, Justice Dunphy sets out the following test:… Continue Reading
Ontario is moving to abolish the limitation period for civil claims based on sexual assault and, in certain cases, non-sexual assault. Tracy MacCharles, the Minister Responsible for Women’s Issues, introduced Bill 132, Sexual Violence and Harassment Action Plan Act (Supporting Survivors and Challenging Sexual… Continue Reading
Curiously, posts about the Real Property Limitations Act receive the most views on Under the Limit. My guess is that this reflects the murkiness of the Act more than people’s interest in it. The Act is Part I of the… Continue Reading
Here’s a novel limitations issue. A plaintiff intends to plead that he discovered his claim within the limitation period, but inadvertently pleads that he discovered it on an earlier date so that the claim is statute-barred. Is the plaintiff entitled… Continue Reading
It’s a settled principle of discoverability that knowledge of liability isn’t necessary to commence the limitation period. We now have a succinct statement of this principle from the Court of Appeal in Lochner v. Toronto: [7] The fact that… Continue Reading
The basic limitation period doesn’t run when the claimant is a minor or incapable person, except when the claimant is represented by a litigation guardian (see sections 6, 7, and 8 of the Limitations Act). If the litigation guardian discovers… Continue Reading
In Laing v. Sekundiak, the Manitoba Court of Appeal defined the test under section 15(2) of the The Limitations of Action Act. Manitoba’s limitation scheme is semi-reformed. It doesn’t have a general limitation period, but it does have a codified… Continue Reading
Whitecourt Power Limited Partnership v. Elliott Turbomachinery Canada Inc. is the first Court of Appeal decision to consider the recent amendments to the Limitations Act establishing a limitation period specific to claims for contribution under the Tort-feasors Act. These are the… Continue Reading
In Sutton v. Balinsky, Justice Dunphy, who’s delivering consistently excellent limitations decisions, eloquently describes the policy goals advanced by determining limitations defences prior to trial: [113] The Limitations Act is a statute of repose and the policy of the Act is… Continue Reading