COURT OF APPEAL FOR ONTARIO
Doherty, Pepall and Huscroft JJ.A.
BETWEEN
Makenzie Smith, a minor, by her Litigation Guardian, Sandra Smith and Sandra Smith
Plaintiffs (Respondents)
and
Loblaw Companies Limited carrying on business as The Real Canadian Superstore
Defendant (Appellant)
Daniel J. Fife and Maple Anne Cameron, for the defendant (appellant)
Joseph Dallal and Lesley Parsons, for the plaintiff (respondent) Makenzie Smith
Heard: July 2, 2015
On appeal from the judgment of Justice Ramsay of the Superior Court of Justice, dated January 14, 2014, sitting with a jury.
APPEAL BOOK ENDORSEMENT
1We do not agree that the jury’s verdict is unreasonable. The appellant acknowledged a duty of care to the respondent. In our view, the failure to provide any training in the proper supervision of the children provided a basis upon which the jury could conclude that the appellant breached its duty.
2Finally, on the causation instruction (agreed upon by the parties), it was open to the jury to find that the failure to provide adequate training of its staff was causative of the respondents’ injuries.
3On the second issue, we do not agree that the jury’s response to Question 2 warrants our intervention. The jury’s answer must be given a “full and liberal” reading in light of the evidence. Taking that approach, we read the word “may” in the second sentence of the answer as speaking to the material contribution requirement in causation as put to the jury and not to the burden of proof on factual issues. Viewed in this way, there is no ambiguity in the jury’s answers.
4The appeal is dismissed. Costs are awarded to the respondent in the amount of $10,000, inclusive of disbursements and all taxes.