This is an appeal concerning the addition of a third party (Cruickshank Construction Limited) to a lawsuit and the application of limitation periods.
The defendants in the original action sought to add Cruickshank as a third party, alleging it was responsible for winter maintenance on Highway 401 where an accident occurred.
The motion judge allowed the addition, finding the claim was not statute-barred and that Cruickshank could not plead a limitation defence.
Cruickshank appealed, arguing the motion judge erred in finding a reasonable explanation for the delay in discovering the claim and in preventing them from pleading a limitation defence.
The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, upholding the motion judge's decision, finding no palpable and overriding error in the discovery analysis, and affirming the judge's discretion to make a final determination on the limitation issue given the comprehensive record and the age of the litigation.
