Court Directs That Additional Oral Evidence Be Adduced On Summary Judgment Motion In Fire Loss Product Liability Claim

In the recent decision of St. Clair Boating v Michigan Electric Supply 2017 ONSC 3864, the Court dealt with a motion for summary judgment on a fire loss claim brought by the defendants. The plaintiff owned and operated a boat warehouse which was destroyed in a fire five years prior to the hearing of the motion. The plaintiff claimed $19 million in damages.

The plaintiff advanced the theory that the fire was caused when one of the metal halide bulbs in the warehouse exploded, causing hot ejected particles to land on and ignite a combustible tarp covering boats stored underneath it. The plaintiff sued a host of defendants including the manufacturer, distributor, and installer of the light bulb and the light fixture. The plaintiff alleged that the design and manufacture of the light fixture was defective and that it should have protected against the possibility of a rupture of the bulb, known to be a fire hazard. The moving defendants disputed this theory of liability on