The court granted summary judgment dismissing Canadian National Railway Company's claims relating to coal tar contamination as an abuse of process, since those claims had already been dismissed in 2014 due to inordinate delay and failure to preserve evidence.
The court found that the same fairness concerns that prevented a fair trial in 2014 persisted.
However, the court allowed CN's claims regarding benzene contamination to proceed, finding that these claims did not crystallize until 2014 and were not part of the earlier action.
The decision clarifies the application of res judicata and abuse of process in the context of environmental contamination and continuing torts.
