Case information
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34680
Regional Municipality of Halton, et al. v. Patrizia Giuliani, et al.
(Ontario) (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) |
|---|---|---|
| 2012-07-03 | Close file on Leave | |
| 2012-06-29 | Copy of formal judgment sent to Registrar of the Court of Appeal and all parties | |
| 2012-06-29 | Judgment on leave sent to the parties | |
| 2012-06-28 |
Judgment of the Court on the application for leave to appeal, The application for leave to appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal for Ontario, Number C52734, 2011 ONCA 812, dated December 21, 2011, is dismissed with costs. Dismissed, with costs |
|
| 2012-05-14 | All materials on application for leave submitted to the Judges, CJ Ro Mo | |
| 2012-03-29 | Applicant's reply to respondent's argument, Completed on: 2012-03-28 | Regional Municipality of Halton |
| 2012-03-19 | Respondent's response on the application for leave to appeal, Completed on: 2012-03-19 | Patrizia Giuliani |
| 2012-02-23 | Correspondence received from, Kirk Stevens dated February 23, 2012. Re: Change of agent | Regional Municipality of Halton |
| 2012-02-20 | Letter acknowledging receipt of a complete application for leave to appeal | |
| 2012-02-20 | Book of authorities | Regional Municipality of Halton |
| 2012-02-20 | Application for leave to appeal, Completed on: 2012-02-20 | Regional Municipality of Halton |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Regional Municipality of Halton | Applicant | Active |
| Town of Milton | Applicant | Active |
v.
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Giuliani, Patrizia | Respondent | Active |
| Giuliani, Tina | Respondent | Active |
Counsel
Party: Regional Municipality of Halton
Counsel
Kirk F. Stevens
130 Adelaide Street West
Suite 2400, Box 95
Toronto, Ontario
M5H 3P5
Telephone: (416) 601-2367
FAX: (416) 867-2426
Email: kboggs@lerners.ca
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
Party: Town of Milton
Counsel
Charles A. Painter
Suite 900, Box 100
1 Queen Street East
Toronto, Ontario
M5C 2W5
Telephone: (416) 643-3312
FAX: (416) 366-3743
Email: jmdavison@pmlaw.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
Party: Giuliani, Patrizia
Counsel
Kathy Chittley-Young
Suite 200
Toronto, Ontario
M5B 1X3
Telephone: (416) 360-5444
FAX: (416) 365-7702
Email: arouben@bellnet.ca
Agent
397 Gladstone Avenue
Suite 100
Ottawa, Ontario
K2P 0Y9
Telephone: (613) 695-8855 Ext: 101
FAX: (613) 695-8580
Email: emeehan@supremeadvocacy.ca
Party: Giuliani, Tina
Counsel
Kathy Chittley-Young
Suite 200
Toronto, Ontario
M5B 1X3
Telephone: (416) 360-5444
FAX: (416) 365-7702
Email: arouben@bellnet.ca
Agent
397 Gladstone Avenue
Suite 100
Ottawa, Ontario
K2P 0Y9
Telephone: (613) 695-8855 Ext: 101
FAX: (613) 695-8580
Email: emeehan@supremeadvocacy.ca
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.
Torts – Negligence – Municipalities – Road maintenance – Whether courts below erred in applying strict construction to s. 44(3)(c) of the Municipal Act, 2001, S.O. 2001, c. 25 and Minimum Maintenance Standards for Municipal Highways, O. Reg. 239/02 – Whether courts below sterilized the legislative intent of s. 44(3)(c) of the Act and the Regulation thereby frustrating the public policy of the Legislature and the Executive to enable municipalities to allocate their highway maintenance resources in a cost-effective and coherent manner – Whether courts below failed to respect the principle of legislative supremacy.
The respondent, Patrizia Giuliani, suffered significant injuries in a car accident when she lost control of her vehicle while driving on an icy regional road of the Regional Municipality of Halton. The road was maintained by the Town of Milton under contract with the regional municipality. The accident occurred at 7:00 a.m. on April 1, 2003. About 2 centimetres of snow had fallen in the three hours preceding the accident and highway traffic had compressed the falling snow into an icy surface. The town commenced salting operations at about 7:15 a.m. The respondents sued the applicants, claiming that they failed to meet their obligation to keep the road in a condition that was reasonable in the circumstances. In defence, the applicants argued in part that they had complied with the relevant sections of the Minimum Maintenance Standards for Municipal Highways, O. Reg. 239/02, therefore they had a defence under s. 44(3)(c) of the Municipal Act, 2001, S.O. 2001, c. 25. Subsection 44(3)(c) sets out that a municipality is not liable for failing to keep a highway in a reasonable state of repair if, at the time the cause of action arose, it had met the applicable minimum standards.
Lower court rulings
Ontario Superior Court of Justice
349/03, 2010 ONSC 4630
Applicants found liable in negligence for 50% of respondents’ damages, $375,000 awarded to respondents
Court of Appeal for Ontario
C52734, 2011 ONCA 812
Appeal and cross-appeal dismissed
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 613-996-8666 or at 1-844-365-9662.
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
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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 613-996-8666 or at 1-844-365-9662.
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 613-996-8666 or at 1-844-365-9662.
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