The plaintiff, an Ontario resident, was injured in a single-car accident in New York State while a passenger in a vehicle owned and driven by Ontario residents.
The plaintiff brought an action in Ontario.
The motions judge applied the lex fori (Ontario law) as an exception to the general rule of lex loci delicti, reasoning that all parties were from Ontario and applying Ontario's no-fault policy was appropriate.
The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, holding that the lex loci delicti (New York law) must apply.
The Court found that the narrow exception to the rule in Tolofson v. Jensen is only available to avoid an injustice, and mere differences in public policy or damage recovery schemes between jurisdictions do not constitute such an injustice.
