Product Liability: Who Has The Burden Of Proof, Again?

The Court of Appeal recently released its decision in AIG Insurance Company of Canada v. Volvo Group Canada Inc., 2024 QCCA 1733, which relates to the presumption of liability that can apply against professional sellers, distributors and manufacturers.

In April 2016, Groupement Forestier Chaudière ("GFC") purchased a new excavator manufactured by Volvo Group Canada ("Volvo") from Mécano Mobile ("Mécano"). Mécano had previously acquired it from Strongco Limited Partnership ("Strongco") and had installed a multifunctional head to delimb, cut and section trees, before selling it to GFC.

In January 2018, the excavator was destroyed in a fire after only 18 months of use. GFC and its subrogated insurer AIG Insurance Company of Canada ("AIG") brought a claim against Mécano, Strongco and Volvo. The trial judge concluded that the excavator failed prematurely. However, the trial judge dismissed the claim because the cause of the fire was undetermined. Indeed, the fire