The plaintiff, Stefan Darcy Vernon, sued North Eastern Ontario Family and Children’s Services (NEOFCS) for negligence, alleging failure to investigate and protect him from abuse by his father.
NEOFCS moved for summary dismissal, arguing that the plaintiff failed to provide an expert report on the applicable standard of care for a child protection agency.
The court found NEOFCS's expert report inadmissible due to improper submission.
The court determined that expert evidence was not necessarily required for the plaintiff's claim of institutional negligence under the Child and Family Services Act, nor for allegations of egregious professional negligence that might fall under established exceptions.
Consequently, the court found a genuine issue requiring a trial and dismissed the motion for summary judgment with costs to the plaintiff.
