Jean-Marc Labrosse

The appellants appealed a jury verdict dismissing their crossclaim against the respondent trailer manufacturer following a fatal motor vehicle accident.

The jury found the accident was caused solely by the negligence of the appellant driver and transport company.

On appeal, the appellants argued the verdict was unreasonable and challenged several evidentiary rulings, including the admission of a deceased driver's statement and log book entries, and the exclusion of coroner's inquest findings.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding the jury's verdict was amply supported by the evidence and the trial judge made no errors in his evidentiary rulings or jury instructions.

The appellants pleaded guilty to criminal negligence causing death, abandoning children, and fraud after leaving their five children in the care of a 10-year-old, during which time their six-month-old infant choked to death.

On appeal, they sought to introduce fresh evidence claiming they had left the children with an adult relative, which the court rejected as not reasonably capable of belief.

The court dismissed the conviction appeal, finding the guilty pleas were properly accepted.

However, the court allowed the sentence appeal on a joint submission, finding the sentencing judge erred in holding that a conditional sentence was unavailable for fraud involving a breach of trust, and imposed a nine-month conditional sentence.