Fridays With Rogers Partners

Over the past 25 years, it’s been a tradition at Rogers Partners for our lawyers and students to meet every Friday morning to discuss practice management strategies, ethical issues, and the latest developments in the law.

We call these sessions “muffin meetings” because someone would always bring muffins. These days, we usually have bagels, croissants or other treats.

This morning, Erin Crochetière discussed an interesting Court of Appeal case, Drummond v. Cadillac Fairview. The plaintiff tripped on a skateboard in the food court of a shopping mall and fell down.

The Court of Appeal overturned a finding of liability on the shopping mall and dismissed the plaintiff’s action.

The decision provides helpful information on procedural fairness in summary judgment motions, reliance on hearsay evidence, and the duty of occupiers.

If a judge is going to grant “boomerang summary judgment”, he or she should provide notice of his or her intention to do so.

The Court of Appeal also indicated that hearsay evidence on a fundamental issue should be treated with caution.

Lastly, the Court of Appeal stated that an occupier does not have to maintain a constant lookout for potential dangers.

Colleen Mackeigan addressed the court’s decision in Bagoo v. The City of Toronto. In a motion for default judgment, the plaintiff was awarded general damages of $35,000 for two fractured fingers.

Colleen also discussed the case of Keiser v. Garber. Justice Morgan awarded the plaintiff costs of over $500,000 partly because the “Defendants both took untenable positions and fought the Plaintiff’s claim tooth and nail even where what the Plaintiff claimed was self-evident”.

Stay tuned for further Friday updates on the RP Blog!