Dear Colleagues:

There have been three recent Ontario Court of Appeal cases that might be of interest:

1.      Sanofi Pasteur v UPS, 2015 ONCA 88:  In this case, the court applied the principled exception to privity of contract (from Fraser River Pile & Dredge Ltd. v. Can-Drive Services Ltd, [1999] 3 S.C.R 108) even though the contract did not explicitly state that it was for the benefit of the third party.

 

2.      Hopkins v Kay 2015 ONCA 112: In this case, the court ruled that a private plaintiff may bring a class proceeding for the tort of intrusion upon seclusion for the unauthorized access to personal health information, even in circumstances where the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario has closed his investigation. The Court rejected the argument that Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA) was a comprehensive code that precluded tort claims.

 

3.      Iannarella v. Corbett 2015 ONCA 110:  In this case, the court confirmed that once the plaintiff has proven that a rear-end collision has occurred, the evidentiary burden shifts from the plaintiff to the defendant, who must then show that he or she was not negligent. This is applicable in all rear-end collision cases, including an emergency situation, as was alleged in the case. Some have questioned whether this line of cases is consistent with the abolishment of res ipsa loquitur in Fontaine v. British Columbia (Official Administrator) [1998] 1 SCR 424 but the court does not address the issue.

 

Sincerely,

-- 
Jason Neyers
Professor of Law
Faculty of Law
Western University
N6A 3K7
(519) 661-2111 x. 88435