Alexander B. Wilkinson

The defendants in a slip and fall action moved for leave to issue a third party claim against a snow removal contractor.

The motion was brought after the expiry of the limitation period for third party claims.

The court dismissed the motion, finding that the defendants were the authors of their own misfortune for the delay.

The court held that the prejudice to the plaintiffs, including the potential for further delay, additional examinations, and the erosion of witness memories, significantly outweighed the interest in avoiding multiple proceedings.

The defendants brought a motion for summary judgment to dismiss the plaintiff's personal injury action, arguing it was statute-barred due to the commencement of a second action outside the presumptive limitation period.

The plaintiff resisted and brought a cross-motion for leave to amend her statement of claim to plead discoverability.

The court dismissed the defendants' motion, finding that the discoverability of threshold injuries under the Insurance Act was a genuine issue for trial, and granted the plaintiff's cross-motion to amend her pleading.

The court found the prior unserved action irrelevant to the limitation period analysis of the served action.

The defendant moved for summary judgment to dismiss the plaintiff's personal injury action, arguing it was time-barred under the Limitations Act.

The plaintiff sustained soft-tissue injuries in a motor vehicle accident and commenced the action more than two years later.

The court applied the discoverability principle for permanent injury claims under s. 267.5(5) of the Insurance Act, emphasizing that the limitation period does not begin until there is a sufficient body of evidence to reasonably persuade a judge that the injury constitutes a serious permanent impairment.

The court found that the plaintiff did not know her injuries were permanent at the time of the accident and that her lawyer only formed the opinion of permanent impairment after receiving a specific medical report.

The defendant's motion was dismissed, and costs were awarded to the plaintiff.