Robert A. Betts

Defended a case on the basis of the expiration of the applicable limitation period. The plaintiff’s warehouse was damaged due to an alleged sprinkler failure on January 11, 20211. The subrogating insurer obtained early commentary, on January 22, 2014, from its engineering expert that the loss was due to both installation and maintenance issues. The Court accepted our position, advanced on a motion for summary judgment, that the insurer had sufficient knowledge, by January 28, 2014, to start the clock on the 2 year time period. The claim was not issued until February 12, 2016, and, as a result, the lawsuit was dismissed due to non-compliance with the limitation period.

A Case against our client, an operator of a concert venue, dismissed on summary judgment. The plaintiff, Tod Webster, suffered a serious spinal injury due to an unexplained incident of trauma while he was in attendance at a Machine Head concert. There were no witnesses to, nor any warnings of, the event that injured the plaintiff. The Court found no evidence of foreseeability, negligence, breach of the Occupiers’ Liability Act or breach of the Liquor License Act. Summary judgment was granted and the defendants on the motion were awarded over $80,000.00 in costs.

Jury trial decision in favour of our client, State Farm, in an unidentified case where Aviva, the insurer for the identified tort defendant, argued that the unidentified vehicle was entirely at fault for the subject collision. The accident occurred near a T type intersection and Aviva’s insured denied seeing the unidentified vehicle until moments prior to the incident. The jury found that the identified driver was inattentive and assessed him with 10% negligence. As a result, our client, State Farm, was completely absolved of any exposure and was awarded its costs.

Upheld the validity of recreational liability waivers under the Occupiers’ Liability Act in the face of arguments advanced that consumers could not be bound by same given the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, 2002.  The Court of Appeal adopted the arguments of Blue Mountain that the specific provisions of the OLA prevailed over the more general provisions of the CPA.  The leave application to the Supreme Court of Canada was dismissed.

Moved successfully to have a plaintiff’s claim dismissed as against the commercial host following an incident where the plaintiff had been struck by a bottle thrown by another patron.  The Court ruled that there was no genuine issues requiring a trial as the incident was not reasonably foreseeable.  The Court also held that the plaintiff had failed to show negligence or a breach of the Occupiers’ Liability Act.

Obtained summary judgment on a claim advanced by a pedestrian who was injured after tripping on a bicycle rack with the Court finding that there was no evidence that the bike rack posted a hidden or unusual danger.  The Court concluded that the plaintiff was the author of his own misfortune and dismissed the claim.

Obtained summary judgment on a claim advanced by an injured skier on the basis of a signed legal waiver and a complete absence of negligence on behalf of the ski hill operator.

Successfully brought a motion to compel a vocational assessment of a brain injured minor plaintiff pursuant to the inherent jurisdiction of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.

Opposed a motion for summary judgment brought by CIBC against a mortgator where CIBC alleged default under the terms of the mortgage flowing from the registration of a restraint order on title pursuant to the provisions of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.

Argued and obtained an order compelling the plaintiffs to strike various paragraphs of their Statement of Claim on the basis that the impugned paragraphs contained no material facts and were prejudicial to the moving party.

Resisted an injunction brought by a bath products wholesaler against, inter alia, a former employee who was alleged to have breached his non-competition agreement.

Defended a condominium unit owner in an application brought by the condominium corporation with respect to changes made by the unit owner to an exclusive use common area terrace.

Successfully opposed an injunction motion brought by an employer against its former employees with respect to alleged breaches of various restrictive covenants.

Sought injunction against Sapient Canada Inc. for breach of contract during the implementation of an SAP IT solution project.

Argued and obtained adjournment of impending trial date and an order compelling the plaintiff’s attendance at a defence medical examination.

Successfully opposed a motion brought by the appellant seeking reinstatement of his leave application which had been dismissed for delay.

Obtained an order compelling the plaintiff to attend defence medical examinations without video recording.