ONCA: City Of Sudbury Negligent In MVA Case

The Court of Appeal has upheld a trial judge's decision finding the City of Sudbury negligent for failure to properly maintain a roadway during inclement winter conditions. Belanger v. City of Sudbury involved a tragic accident in which a 20 year old woman was catastrophically injured when her vehicle crossed the center line and struck a bus head on in icy and snowy conditions. Damages were agreed at $12 million and the only issue at trial was liability.

The City agreed that the road was in a state of 'non repair' at the time of the accident as a result of snow and ice accumulation but relied on the statutory defences in section 284(1.2) and 284 (1.3) of the Municipal Act. Section 284 (1.2) provides a defence if the City could not have known about the state of non-repair at the time of the accident and 284 (1.3) can be successfully invoked if the City can establish that it took reasonable steps to prevent the state of non-repair.