The plaintiff, Morguard Investments Limited, brought a negligence claim against the defendants, Alectra Inc. and Alectra Utilities Corporation, for damages resulting from a power outage during emergency electrical repairs.
The defendants cut power to the plaintiff's commercial premises in freezing temperatures to repair a broken electrical switch.
The power outage caused the plaintiff's hydronic heating system to freeze and burst, resulting in water damage.
The defendants moved for summary judgment to dismiss the action.
The court found that while the defendants may have owed a duty of care, the plaintiff failed to establish a breach of the standard of care.
The court determined that the plaintiff, as the building owner, was in the best position to know its heating system and should have alerted the defendants to the risk of pipes freezing in freezing conditions.
The motion was granted and the action was dismissed.
