This Ottawa occupiers’ liability case was a bifurcated trial with the issue of liability heard first. While the analysis is largely fact driven, Cooper provides a helpful analysis of occupiers’ liability law and a thorough review of the judge’s findings of fact.
If you are walking down the street in the midst of a beautiful snow fall, you are likely not thinking of the potential accumulation of ice on buildings. Removing ice from buildings is essential to keep the public safe when travelling in Ontario, especially areas surrounded by high-rise structures.
Imagine that it is a beautiful fall day, and you decide to go for a bike ride before the weather cools down. Cycling in a nearby wooded area, commonly used by your neighbourhood for outdoor activities, imagine your horror when your bike tumbles into a ditch. In addition to sustaining many scrapes and bruises, you have broken your leg!
Given a proper evidentiary record, a Court may draw reasonable inferences and grant summary judgment in favor of a party who is seeking to prove that, on the balance of probabilities, an event is unlikely to have occurred, so long as the party can show that it exercised due diligence and that a trial would not change anything in that regard or show different evidence.
