Case information
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39956
Thomas William Rivers v. Corporation of the District of North Vancouver, et al.
(British Columbia) (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) |
|---|---|---|
| 2022-07-19 | Close file on Leave | |
| 2022-07-12 | Correspondence (sent by the Court) to, parties, Re: certificate of taxation (CDNV) | |
| 2022-07-12 | Correspondence (sent by the Court) to, parties, Re: certificate of taxation (Mount Seymour) | |
| 2022-07-12 | Certificate of taxation issued to, Stephen Berezowskyj for CDNV | |
| 2022-07-12 | Certificate of taxation issued to, Vernon J. Pahl for Mount Seymour | |
| 2022-07-12 | Decision on the bill of costs, (CDNV), in the amount of $1,073.01, Reg | |
| 2022-07-12 | Decision on the bill of costs, (Mount Seymour), in the amount of $1,164.93, Reg | |
| 2022-07-12 | Submission of the bill of costs, (CDNV), Reg | |
| 2022-07-12 | Submission of the bill of costs, (Mount Seymour), Reg | |
| 2022-06-09 | Bill of costs, Completed on: 2022-07-19 | Corporation of the District of North Vancouver |
| 2022-05-18 | Bill of costs, Completed on: 2022-07-11 | Mount Seymour Little League Association |
| 2022-04-14 | Copy of formal judgment sent to Registrar of the Court of Appeal and all parties | |
| 2022-04-14 | Judgment on leave sent to the parties | |
| 2022-04-14 |
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 British Columbia (Vancouver), Number CA46946, 2021 BCCA 407, dated October 26, 2021 is dismissed with costs. Dismissed, with costs |
|
| 2022-03-14 | All materials on application for leave submitted to the Judges, for consideration by the Court | |
| 2022-02-08 | Applicant's reply to respondent's argument, (Book Form), (joint reply), Completed on: 2022-02-11, (Printed version filed on 2022-02-09) | Thomas William Rivers |
| 2022-02-01 | Certificate (on limitations to public access) | Mount Seymour Little League Association |
| 2022-02-01 | Notice of name | Mount Seymour Little League Association |
| 2022-02-01 | Respondent's response on the application for leave to appeal, (Book Form), Completed on: 2022-02-09, (Printed version filed on 2022-02-01) | Mount Seymour Little League Association |
| 2022-01-31 | Certificate (on limitations to public access) | Corporation of the District of North Vancouver |
| 2022-01-31 | Notice of name | Corporation of the District of North Vancouver |
| 2022-01-31 | Respondent's response on the application for leave to appeal, (Book Form), Completed on: 2022-02-09, (Printed version filed on 2022-01-31) | Corporation of the District of North Vancouver |
| 2021-12-21 | Correspondence received from, Formal Order Form | Thomas William Rivers |
| 2021-12-21 | Letter acknowledging receipt of an incomplete application for leave to appeal and without formal Court of Appeal order, FILE OPENED 12/21/21 | |
| 2021-12-20 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), (Printed version filed on 2021-12-20) | Thomas William Rivers |
| 2021-12-20 |
Application for leave to appeal, (Book Form), Missing: Final CA Order (rec'd 2022-01-05) Filing Fee (rec' 12/21/21), Completed on: 2022-03-11, (Printed version filed on 2021-12-20) |
Thomas William Rivers |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Rivers, Thomas William | Applicant | Active |
v.
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Corporation of the District of North Vancouver | Respondent | Active |
| Mount Seymour Little League Association | Respondent | Active |
| West Vancouver Little League Society | Respondent | Active |
| John Doe 1, John Doe 2, John Doe 3, John Doe 4, John Doe 5, John Doe 6, John Doe 7, John Doe 8, John Doe 9, John Doe 10, John Doe 11, John Doe 12, John Doe 13, John Doe 14 | Respondent | Active |
Counsel
Party: Rivers, Thomas William
Counsel
Christopher J. Watson
1600-1095 West Pender Street
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6E 2M6
Telephone: (604) 689-3281
FAX: (604) 685-6494
Email: pcote@macfuj.com
Agent
1800 - 275 Slater Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 5H9
Telephone: (613) 691-1224
FAX: (613) 691-1338
Email: mdillon@supremelawgroup.ca
Party: Corporation of the District of North Vancouver
Counsel
Dan Barber
1200 – 925 West Georgia Street
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6C 3L2
Telephone: (604) 682-7474
FAX: (604) 682-1283
Email: sberezowskyj@singleton.com
Agent
Ottawa, Ontario
K2P 0J8
Telephone: (613) 282-1712
FAX: (613) 288-2896
Email: msobkin@sympatico.ca
Party: Mount Seymour Little League Association
Counsel
A.D. Gubeli
2100 – 1075 West Georgia Street
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6E 3C9
Telephone: (604) 688-1221
FAX: (604) 688-1315
Email: vpahl@guildyule.com
Agent
160 Elgin Street
Suite 2600
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 1C3
Telephone: (613) 786-8695
FAX: (613) 788-3509
Email: lynne.watt@gowlingwlg.com
Party: West Vancouver Little League Society
Counsel
A.D. Gubeli
2100 – 1075 West Georgia Street
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6E 3C9
Telephone: (604) 688-1221
FAX: (604) 688-1315
Email: vpahl@guildyule.com
Party: John Doe 1, John Doe 2, John Doe 3, John Doe 4, John Doe 5, John Doe 6, John Doe 7, John Doe 8, John Doe 9, John Doe 10, John Doe 11, John Doe 12, John Doe 13, John Doe 14
Counsel
A.D. Gubeli
2100 – 1075 West Georgia Street
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6E 3C9
Telephone: (604) 688-1221
FAX: (604) 688-1315
Email: vpahl@guildyule.com
Summary
Keywords
Torts — Negligence — Standard of Care — Assumption of risk — Is a plaintiff's assumption of risk a proper factor to consider when assessing whether a defendant met the standard of care?
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.
The applicant was struck on the back of the head by a foul ball while he watched a Little League baseball game at Inter River Park in North Vancouver. The ball emanated from another diamond, which was back to back to the diamond on which his son was playing. The applicant was seated in the first row of bleachers on the third base side watching his son play on field D, with his back to the game that was being played on field C. The applicant brought a claim under the Occupiers Liability Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 337 (“OLA”) and a common law claim in negligence against the respondents seeking damages for his injuries.
The applicant’s action was dismissed by the Supreme Court of British Columbia following a summary trial. The Court of Appeal for British Columbia dismissed the appeal. The appellate court rejected the applicant’s argument that the trial court had incorrectly invoked the volenti doctrine, under which a person otherwise entitled to recover damages for the negligent act of another may be denied recovery on the basis that they voluntarily assumed the risks associated with the activity. In its view, the judge was not looking to whether the respondents had established a defence to what would have been negligence, but rather considering all the circumstances to see whether a breach of the standard of care had been established. An inherent risk, known to a reasonable spectator, was one relevant contextual factor for the determination of whether there was an objectively unreasonable risk that a person sitting where the applicant sat in the bleachers would be injured.
Lower court rulings
Supreme Court of British Columbia
2020 BCSC 1050, S158567
Action against the respondents dismissed.
Court of Appeal for British Columbia (Vancouver)
2021 BCCA 407, CA46946
Appeal dismissed.
Memorandums of argument on application for leave to appeal
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 filing 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
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Related links
Factums on appeal
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
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