Alberta Court Of Appeal Uses Class Action To Broaden Summary Judgment And Narrow Strict Liability

INTRODUCTION

On March 19, 2014, the Alberta Court of Appeal (Court) released its unanimous decision in Windsor v. Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. The Court allowed the appeal in part, dismissing a class claim against Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. (Railway). The Court of Appeal's decision broadens the availability of summary judgment in Alberta, including with respect to class proceedings, and limits the availability of the Rylands v. Fletcher doctrine giving rise to strict liability for the release of unnatural substances from land.

BACKGROUND

Beginning in the 1900s, the Railway operated a locomotive repair facility in an area now part of Calgary (Shop). From the mid-1950s to the mid-1980s, a degreasing solvent consisting primarily of trichloroethylene (TCE) was used at the Shop. The Railway later discovered migration of TCE into the groundwater underneath the Shop and portions of the now-surrounding residential community. To address the problem, the Railway