Excellent. Thanks for that.
It’s interesting the Ontario court doesn’t mention it or J.C.M.
I`m updating a casebook so am very grateful for these.
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Matthew P. Harrington
Professeur
Faculté de droit
Université de Montréal
Montréal, Québec
514.343.6105
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De : Angela Swan [mailto:aswan@airdberlis.com]
Envoyé : 6 juin 2014 11:12
À : Harrington Matthew P.; obligations@uwo.ca
Objet : RE: Human Tissue is Property in Canada
Sperm held in a super-freezer was held to be property, specifically “goods”, in Lam
v. University of British Columbia, 2013 BCSC 2094, so that the Warehouse Receipt Act governed the contract between the donor and the University.
Angela Swan
This may be of tangential interest to members on this list, but an Ontario trial court handed down a rather significant opinion concerning property interests in human tissue. In Piljak’s Estate v. Abraham, 2014 ONSC 2893, a master in the superior court held
that human tissue once removed from the body should be considered chattel capable of being owned like other personal property.
The decision was made in the context of a preliminary motion in a malpractise case where the defendant sought an order in discovery to examine “real or personal property” (under Rule 32.10). In deciding the order, the court had to consider whether the tissue
was, in fact, property. The master concluded that the tissue was property but denied the motion on other grounds.
Although American and UK courts have considered this issue in several contexts, this appears to be the first Canadian case specifically holding that body parts or tissue can be considered property.
Regards.
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Matthew P. Harrington
Professeur
Faculté de droit
Université de Montréal
Montréal, Québec
514.343.6105
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