Ontario: S. 21 might include mistake as to identity

In Douglas v. Stan Fergusson Fuels Ltd., the Court of Appeal left open the possibility that s. 21 of the Limitations Act might be broad enough to include mistake as to identity rather than merely a misdescription:

[112]   In my view, while the test for misnomer may be broad enough to embrace a mistake as to the identity of the person who should have brought a suit (rather than a misdescription of the person suing),[8] it cannot do so in this case. This is because, as I have explained above, at the time State Farm chose to commence a claim, it did not have capacity to do so in its own name. As a result, it cannot be said that State Farm made a “mistake” in naming the Douglases as plaintiffs instead of itself.