Case information
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31271
Resurfice Corp., et al. v. Ralph Robert Hanke, et al.
(Alberta) (Civil) (By Leave)
Docket
Judgments on applications for leave to appeal are rendered by the Court, but are not necessarily unanimous.
| Date | Proceeding | Filed By (if applicable) |
|---|---|---|
| 2007-02-12 | Appeal closed | |
| 2007-02-09 | Formal judgment sent to the registrar of the court of appeal and all parties | |
| 2007-02-09 | Judgment on appeal and notice of deposit of judgment sent to all parties | |
| 2007-02-08 |
Judgment on the appeal rendered, CJ Ba Bi LeB De F Abe Cha Ro, The appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal of Alberta (Edmonton), Number 0303-0269-AC, 2005 ABCA 383, dated November 7, 2005, heard on December 12, 2006, is allowed, the order of the Court of Appeal is set aside, and the trial judgment is restored, with costs throughout. Allowed, costs in this Court and courts below |
|
| 2007-01-05 | Transcript received, (62 pages) | |
| 2006-12-12 | Judgment reserved OR rendered with reasons to follow | |
| 2006-12-12 | Acknowledgement and consent for video taping of proceedings | |
| 2006-12-12 | Respondent's condensed book, 14 copies - distributed in Court. | Ralph Robert Hanke |
| 2006-12-12 | Appellant's condensed book, 14 copies - distributed in Court. | Leclair Equipment Ltd. |
| 2006-12-12 | Appellant's condensed book, 14 copies - distributed in Court. | Resurfice Corp. |
| 2006-12-12 |
Hearing of the appeal, 2006-12-12, CJ Ba Bi LeB De F Abe Cha Ro Judgment reserved |
|
| 2006-11-30 | Notice of appearance, David J. Cichy, Q.C. and E. Jane Sidnell will be appearing. | Leclair Equipment Ltd. |
| 2006-11-29 | Notice of appearance, Daniel Hagg, Q.C. and Jeffrey Sermet will be appearing. | Resurfice Corp. |
| 2006-11-23 | Notice of appearance, Jonathan Rossall and David Rising will be present at the hearing. | Ralph Robert Hanke |
| 2006-10-19 | Appeal perfected for hearing | |
| 2006-10-16 | Respondent's book of authorities, Completed on: 2006-10-16 | Ralph Robert Hanke |
| 2006-10-16 | Respondent's record, Completed on: 2006-10-16 | Ralph Robert Hanke |
| 2006-10-16 | Respondent's factum, Completed on: 2006-10-16 | Ralph Robert Hanke |
| 2006-10-10 | Respondent's book of authorities, Completed on: 2006-10-10 | Ralph Robert Hanke |
| 2006-10-10 | Respondent's factum, Completed on: 2006-10-10 | Ralph Robert Hanke |
| 2006-08-23 | Notice of hearing sent to parties | |
| 2006-08-21 | Appellant's book of authorities, Completed on: 2006-08-21 | Leclair Equipment Ltd. |
| 2006-08-21 | Appellant's factum, Completed on: 2006-08-21 | Leclair Equipment Ltd. |
| 2006-08-21 |
Appeal hearing scheduled, 2006-12-12, (previously Nov. 16/06) Judgment reserved |
|
| 2006-08-17 | Appellant's book of authorities, (Vol. I & II), Completed on: 2006-08-17 | Resurfice Corp. |
| 2006-08-17 | Appellant's record, (Appellants' joint record vol. I to X), Completed on: 2006-08-17 | Resurfice Corp. |
| 2006-08-17 | Appellant's factum, Completed on: 2006-08-17 | Resurfice Corp. |
| 2006-06-29 | Affidavit, of service of the Notice of Appeal sent to the Court of Appeal on June 16/06 | Leclair Equipment Ltd. |
| 2006-05-29 | Notice of appeal, Completed on: 2006-05-29 | Leclair Equipment Ltd. |
| 2006-05-25 | Notice of appeal, Completed on: 2006-05-25 | Resurfice Corp. |
| 2006-05-11 | Letter advising the parties of tentative hearing date and filing deadlines (Leave granted) | |
| 2006-04-28 | Copy of formal judgment sent to Registrar of the Court of Appeal and all parties | |
| 2006-04-28 | Judgment on leave sent to the parties | |
| 2006-04-27 |
Judgment of the Court on the application for leave to appeal, The applications for leave to appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal of Alberta (Edmonton), Number 0303-0269-AC, 2005 ABCA 383, dated November 7, 2005, are granted with costs to the applicants in any event of the cause. Granted, with costs |
|
| 2006-03-15 | Supplemental document, 6 copies of a published article already mentioned in reply with service (sent to the judges March 21/06) | Leclair Equipment Ltd. |
| 2006-03-06 | All materials on application for leave submitted to the Judges, CJ Bi Cha | |
| 2006-02-10 | Applicant's reply to respondent's argument, Reply to 2nd application, Completed on: 2006-02-10 | Leclair Equipment Ltd. |
| 2006-02-03 | Applicant's reply to respondent's argument, (First Application), Completed on: 2006-02-03 | Resurfice Corp. |
| 2006-02-02 | Respondent's response on the application for leave to appeal, to 2nd application, Completed on: 2006-02-02 | Ralph Robert Hanke |
| 2006-01-27 | Respondent's response on the application for leave to appeal, to 1rst application, Completed on: 2006-01-27 | Ralph Robert Hanke |
| 2006-01-10 | Letter acknowledging receipt of an incomplete application for leave to appeal | |
| 2006-01-06 | Application for leave to appeal, (2nd Application) - Appeal Court Order missing (rec'd Feb. 17/06) - New covers requested (Rec'd Jan.12/06), Completed on: 2006-02-20 | Leclair Equipment Ltd. |
| 2006-01-05 | Letter acknowledging receipt of an incomplete application for leave to appeal | |
| 2006-01-04 | Application for leave to appeal, (First Application) - Court of Appeal order (rec'd Feb.17/06) and filling fee missing (Fees rec'd Jan. 23/06), Completed on: 2006-02-20 | Resurfice Corp. |
Parties
Please note that in the case of closed files, the “Status” column reflects the status of the parties at the time of the proceedings. For more information about the proceedings and about the dates when the file was open, please consult the docket of the case in question.
Main parties
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Resurfice Corp. | Appellant | Active |
v.
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Hanke, Ralph Robert | Respondent | Active |
And Between
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Leclair Equipment Ltd. | Appellant | Active |
v.
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Hanke, Ralph Robert | Respondent | Active |
Counsel
Party: Resurfice Corp.
Counsel
Jeffrey R. Sermet
2600, 10180 - 101 Street
Edmonton, Alberta
T5J 3Y2
Telephone: (780) 420-4702
FAX: (780) 428-6324
Email: dwhagg@bryanco.com
Agent
300 - 50 O'Connor Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 6L2
Telephone: (613) 232-7171
FAX: (613) 231-3191
Email: jbeedell@langmichener.ca
Party: Leclair Equipment Ltd.
Counsel
E. Jane Sidnell
3000, 700 - 9th Avenue S.W.
Calgary, Alberta
T2P 3V4
Telephone: (403) 298-2496
FAX: (403) 262-0007
Email: dcichy@millerthomson.ca
Agent
300 - 50 O'Connor St
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 6L2
Telephone: (613) 232-7171
FAX: (613) 231-3191
Email: emeehan@langmichener.ca
Party: Hanke, Ralph Robert
Counsel
David D. Risling
600 - 12220 Stony Plain Road
Edmonton, Alberta
T5N 3Y4
Telephone: (780) 482-9242
FAX: (780) 482-9100
Email: jrossall@mross.com
Agent
2600 - 160 Elgin St
Box 466 Station D
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 1C3
Telephone: (613) 233-1781
FAX: (613) 563-9869
Email: brian.crane@gowlingwlg.com
Summary
Keywords
None.
Summary
Case summaries are prepared by the Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Canada (Law Branch). Please note that summaries are not provided to the Judges of the Court. They are placed on the Court file and website for information purposes only.
Mr. Hanke, an arena attendant, either placed a water hose into the gasoline tank intake spout of an ice resurfacing machine he was preparing for routine use, or failed to notice that it had been put there in error by another attendant. Without conducting a “walk around” inspection of the machine, he turned hot water on to fill the water tank and went to prepare the ice for flooding. The hot water filled the gasoline tank and then forced water and gasoline out of the intake spout. As Mr. Hanke was walking back to the machine, he noticed liquid shooting up around the hose. He either pulled the hose out of the tank and turned the hot water off, or vice-versa. However, vapourized gasoline came into contact with an ignition source, causing two explosions and a fire. Mr. Hanke was seriously burned and disfigured. Having received workers’ compensation, he made a product liability claim against the machine’s manufacturer (Resurfice Corporation) and its distributors (Leclair Equipment Ltd.) arguing that the error was a foreseeable consequence of deficient design and manufacture.
The trial judge found that he was solely responsible for the accident. Absent evidence that either worker had been confused by the machine’s design, the evidence of behaviour and design was irrelevant. The Court of Appeal found that decision reviewable and identified three errors. First, the trial judge had applied the “but for” test rather than the “material contribution” test. Second, he had considered only the actions of Mr. Hanke. Finally, he had failed to adequately consider the role the design elements played in the accident. It allowed the appeal and ordered a new trial.
Lower court rulings
Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta
9603 26077, 2003 ABQB 616
Respondent's application granted and Applicant ordered to file affidavit setting out particulars of 2003 and 2004 income and RRSP information and ordered to produce to the court copies of 2003 and 2004 income tax returns
Court of Appeal of Alberta (Edmonton)
0303-0269-AC, 2005 ABCA 383
Judgment dated February 13, 1998 from Superior Court of Washington for Whatcom County, U.S.A. requiring Applicant to pay $19,128.39 registered in B.C. court
Filed documents
The memorandums of argument on an application for leave to appeal will be posted here 30 days after leave to appeal has been granted unless they contain personal information, information that is subject to a publication ban, or any other information that is not part of the public record. You may also obtain copies of the memorandum by filling out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613‑996‑7933 or at 1‑888‑551‑1185.
If you have questions about a memorandum of argument or want to use a memorandum of argument, please contact the author of the memorandum of argument directly. Their name appears at the end of the memorandum of argument. The contact information for counsel is found in the “Counsel” tab of this page.
Downloadable PDFs
Not available
Related links
The factums of the appellant, the respondent and the intervener will be posted here at least 2 weeks before the hearing unless they contain personal information, information that is subject to a publication ban, or any other information that is not part of the public record. You may also obtain copies of factums by filling out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613‑996‑7933 or at 1‑888‑551‑1185.
If you have questions about a factum or want permission to use a factum, please contact the author of the factum directly. Their contact information appears on the first page of each factum.
Downloadable PDFs
Not available
Related links
The condensed books of the appellant, the respondent and the intervener will be posted here upon receipt of the electronic version, 2 days prior to the scheduled appeal hearing. You may also obtain copies of condensed books by filling out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613‑996‑7933 or at 1‑888‑551‑1185.
If you have questions about a condensed book or want permission to use a condensed book, please contact the author of the condensed book directly. Their contact information appears on the first page of each condensed book.
Downloadable PDFs
Not available