Ed McCarron

The defendant Phillip Franchetto brought a motion for summary judgment to dismiss negligence claims against him arising from a head-on motor vehicle collision.

The plaintiffs, passengers in the other vehicle, alleged Franchetto was negligent for his speed and evasive maneuvers.

The court dismissed the motion, finding that Franchetto's actions were reasonable and did not breach the standard of care, nor were they a legal cause of the plaintiffs' injuries.

The court emphasized that expert opinions based on hindsight and counterfactuals cannot supplant the legal standard of a reasonable and prudent driver in an emergency.

The defendant brought a motion for summary judgment to dismiss the plaintiff's slip and fall claim.

The plaintiff alleged she slipped on liquid on the floor, while the defendant argued there was no liquid and it had a reasonable system of inspection.

The court granted the defendant leave to bring the motion after the action was set down for trial.

However, the court dismissed the summary judgment motion, finding genuine issues requiring a trial regarding credibility, whether there was liquid on the floor, and whether the defendant's employees actually followed the system of inspection.

The applicants sought accident benefits following an alleged motor vehicle collision.

The insurer denied the claims, alleging the accident was staged and the applicants made material misrepresentations.

At a preliminary issue hearing, the arbitrator heard evidence from the applicants, the occupants of the other vehicle (who confessed to participating in a staged accident scheme), and accident reconstruction experts.

The arbitrator found the applicants' version of events highly improbable, noting inconsistencies between their testimony and the physical damage to the vehicles, the lack of independent witnesses, and the improbable behaviour of the passengers.

The arbitrator concluded the reported accident did not occur and dismissed the claims.