Agricultural Law NetLetter - Monday, March 7, 2016

A Justice of the Provincial Court of Saskatchewan has dismissed the claim of a Saskatchewan farmer against a municipality for damage caused to the farmer's lands. The municipality installed a culvert which resulted in substantial flooding of the farmer's lands and a corresponding loss in crop yield. The Court held that the claim was statute-barred because it fell outside of the relevant statutory limitation period. The farmer argued that the limitation period began to run when it became obvious that the land could not yield crops the following season, which would put his claim within the relevant period. However, the Court concluded that, based on the farmer's experience and specialized knowledge, he ought to have known that his cause of action arose on the date the flooding occurred, and that the limitation period therefore began at that time. Thus, the farmer's claim fell outside of the relevant limitation period, and the claim was dismissed