Joshua E. Thon

The plaintiff slipped and fell on an icy sidewalk outside a post office.

Over three years later, he moved to amend his statement of claim to add several third and fourth parties as defendants to the main action.

Two of the proposed defendants opposed the motion, arguing the claims were statute-barred under the Limitations Act, 2002.

The court found that the plaintiff failed to exercise reasonable diligence in investigating the cause of the ice build-up and delayed informing his counsel about a broken eavestrough.

Factoring in the COVID-19 limitation period suspension, the court concluded the limitation period had expired and dismissed the motion against the opposing parties.

The plaintiff, Natalie Moretto, a 15-year-old at the time, was bitten on the face by the defendant's dog.

The court found the defendant strictly liable under the Dog Owner’s Liability Act.

The defendant failed to prove contributory negligence on the part of the plaintiff.

The court awarded general damages for physical injury and some psychological sequelae, and future care costs for laser treatments and sunscreen.

However, the claim for loss of competitive advantage was dismissed due to insufficient evidence and the inadmissibility of expert opinion.