The plaintiffs sought partial summary judgment in a civil action for damages following a motor vehicle accident, arguing that the defendant should be bound by findings made in a prior provincial offences trial acquitting the driver of careless driving.
The court denied the motion, holding that the findings in the earlier trial were not determinative of the issues in the civil action, given the different burdens of proof and the fact that the defendant was not a party to the earlier proceeding.
The court found that relitigation of the driver’s role in the accident was not an abuse of process and that the defendant should be permitted to fully marshal evidence at trial.
