BLG Successfully Applies No-Consent Defence in Single-Vehicle Accident Case

Wagner v. Fellows et al., 2017 ONSC 7309

On December 7, 2017, the Ontario Superior Court released its reasons for decision in Wagner v. Fellows, 2017 ONSC 6979. The action arose from a single-vehicle accident that took place early in the morning on April 2, 2011. The defendant, 16-year old Madison Fellows, was operating a van owned by his mother, Melissa Ley, when he lost control of the van and crashed. The plaintiff, 15-year old Tyler Wagner, was a passenger in the van along with another youth, 13-year old "M.F."

The plaintiff commenced an action against Ms. Ley alleging that she had expressly or implicitly consented to her son's possession of her van at the time of the accident, rendering her vicariously liable pursuant to section 192(2) of the Highway Traffic Act. The plaintiff further alleged that Ms. Ley was independently negligent in the way she kept and controlled access to the van's keys, following the case of J.J. v. C.C., 2016 ONCA 718, in which