Richard B. Lindsay

The appellant sued Quebec asbestos companies in British Columbia for damages related to asbestos exposure.

He sought discovery of documents.

The respondents refused, citing the Quebec Business Concerns Records Act, which prohibits removing business documents from Quebec pursuant to foreign judicial orders.

The BC courts declined to rule on the constitutionality of the Quebec statute and dismissed the application to compel production.

The Supreme Court of Canada allowed the appeal, holding that the BC courts and the SCC had jurisdiction to consider the constitutionality of the Quebec statute.

Applying the principles from Morguard, the Court held that the Quebec blocking statute was constitutionally inapplicable to proceedings in other provinces because it offended the principles of order and fairness inherent in the Canadian federation.

The appellant sought full tort recovery against employees who negligently damaged a transformer while performing warehousing services under a storage contract containing a $40 limitation of liability clause.

The Court held that the employees owed a duty of care to the customer, but also held that the doctrine of privity should be relaxed to permit employees to rely on their employer's contractual limitation clause where the clause expressly or impliedly extends to them and they were acting in the course of employment while performing the contracted services.

Applying that framework, the employees' liability was limited to $40.

The appeal and cross-appeal were both dismissed, with one judge dissenting on the cross-appeal and concluding no duty of care existed.