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ARTICLE · 27 JUNE 2023

ONCA Confirms Municipality's Evidentiary Obligations To Seek Defence Under MMS

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The Ontario Court of Appeal recently released its decision in Beardwood et al. v The City of Hamilton, 2023 ONCA 436. In this decision, the ONCA considered...

CanadaLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
Zoe Aranha
Zoe Aranha
Natalie Kolos
Natalie Kolos
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The Ontario Court of Appeal recently released its decision in Beardwood et al. v The City of Hamilton, 2023 ONCA 436. In this decision, the ONCA considered the statutory defences available to defendant municipalities in cases of accidents occurring allegedly due to the state of the roadways.

Trial decision

In Beardwood, the plaintiff was involved in a single-vehicle motorcycle accident. The plaintiff was travelling at a low speed when he encountered a "bump" allegedly causing his front wheel to go into the air, and his subsequent fall from his motorcycle.

As noted in BLG's prior publication about the trial decision, the Trial Judge found that the intersection was not in a reasonable state of repair as the discontinuity created a risk of harm to an ordinary reasonable driver.

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