Destructive Testing Marks Start Of Two-Year Limitation Period In Product Claim

Limitation periods can be subject to much dispute. While the time limit to commence a claim is presumed to run from the date of loss, the plaintiff bears the burden of demonstrating that the cause of action was not discoverable until later. The recent case of Hamilton (City) v Daimler Trucks North America LLC, 2018 ONSC 4617 (Hamilton) considered the limitation period in a product liability fire claim involving a vehicle fire where the claim was commenced more than two years after the fire.

Background

In this case, the fire occurred on September 22, 2010. The fire department was called to extinguish the fire and advised the plaintiff's representative handling the loss that the truck had sustained an engine fire. The plaintiff retained an expert the day after the fire and non-destructive examination of the truck took place on September 27, 2010. This investigation was suspended on the expert's recommendation that further investigation would involve destructive