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ARTICLE · 10 NOVEMBER 2020

So You Want To Amend A Pleading? Not So Fast!

McCague Borlack LLP
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In McConnell v. Fraser, McCague Borlack LLP's Eric W.D. Boate successfully opposed the Plaintiff's motion to amend his Statement of Claim to add a new cause of action outside the limitation period.

CanadaLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
Eric W.D. Boate
Eric W.D. Boate
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Introduction

In McConnell v. Fraser,1 McCague Borlack LLP's Eric W.D. Boate successfully opposed the Plaintiff's motion to amend his Statement of Claim to add a new cause of action outside the limitation period.

The issues before the Ontario Superior Court of Justice were as follows:

  1. Whether the proposed amendments raised a new cause of action.
  2. Whether the new cause of action was statute-barred by the Limitations Act, 2002.2

Background Facts

In September 2015, the Plaintiff, David McConnell, was installing drywall in the home of the Defendants, Michelle and Gary Fraser, when he allegedly fell from a scaffold and was injured.

In the initial Statement of Claim, the Plaintiff sued the Defendants under the Occupiers' Liability Act.3 The Plaintiff claimed the Defendants failed to properly maintain safe working conditions and failed to provide safe equipment; however, the Plaintiff did not allege in the initial Statement of Claim that the Defendant,

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