A new decision of the Supreme Court of Canada highlights a
fundamental difference between purely no-fault automobile insurance
jurisdictions like Quebec and fault-based automobile insurance
jurisdictions like Alberta.
The facts of Westmount (City) v. Rossy, 2012 SCC 30 are
very straight forward. In 2006 Gabriel Rossy was operating an
automobile on the streets of the City of Westmount when a tree
owned by the City fell on his vehicle, killing Mr. Rossy. The
Plaintiffs, surviving family members, sued the City for its failure
in properly maintaining the tree. The City moved to dismiss the
action on the basis that the Plaintiffs' exclusive remedy was
under Quebec's no-fault scheme in the Automobile Insurance
Act. The Quebec Superior Court agreed with the City and
dismissed the action. The Quebec Court of Appeal reversed that
decision, reasoning that "the automobile is merely what he
happened to be in when the tree fell. He could just as well have
been walking, cycling,
