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Appeal allowed and case remanded to assess evidence on when prescription started to run for sexual assault claim.
The appellant filed a civil liability action for sexual assault more than 25 years after the alleged assault occurred.
The respondents successfully moved to dismiss the action on the ground that it was prescribed, and the Quebec Court of Appeal affirmed the dismissal.
The Supreme Court of Canada allowed the appeal, agreeing with the dissenting judge at the Court of Appeal that the issue of when prescription started to run raised questions of fact that could not be resolved on the face of the record.
The case was remanded to the Quebec Superior Court to assess the evidence.
Manufacturer not liable for farm equipment injury where user's failure to use safety covers broke causal link.
The appellant, an eleven-year-old boy, was severely injured when his foot was caught in a conveyer worm screw at a poultry house.
He brought an action against the owner of the poultry house and later joined the manufacturer of the conveyer as a defendant.
After settling with the owner, the appellant continued his action against the manufacturer, alleging failure to warn and defective design.
The Supreme Court of Canada dismissed the appeal, finding that the accident was entirely caused by the negligence of the appellant and his father, who had failed to use the safety covers provided by the manufacturer.
This negligence constituted a novus actus interveniens that broke any causal link between the manufacturer's alleged faults and the injury.
