''Tolofson v Jensen'',
994
Year 994 ( CMXCIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Byzantine Empire
* September 15 – Battle of the Orontes: Fatimid forces, under Turkish genera ...
3 S.C.R. 1022 is a landmark decision of the
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...
on
conflict of laws
Conflict of laws (also called private international law) is the set of rules or laws a jurisdiction applies to a case, transaction, or other occurrence that has connections to more than one jurisdiction. This body of law deals with three broad t ...
in
tort
A tort is a civil wrong that causes a claimant to suffer loss or harm, resulting in legal liability for the person who commits the tortious act. Tort law can be contrasted with criminal law, which deals with criminal wrongs that are punishable ...
. The Court held that the primary determiner in selecting a country's law in tort should be the ''
lex loci In conflict of laws, the term ''lex loci'' (Latin for "the law of the place") is a shorthand version of the choice of law rules that determine the ''lex causae'' (the laws chosen to decide a case).''Black's Law Dictionary'' abridged Sixth Edition (1 ...
'' (the location where the tort occurred). The case was decided with ''Lucas (Litigation guardian of) v Gagnon''.
Background
Prior to this case, the leading case on the matter was ''
McLean v Pettigrew
MacLean, also spelt Maclean and McLean, is a Gaelic surname Mac Gille Eathain, or, Mac Giolla Eóin in Irish Gaelic), Eóin being a Gaelic form of Johannes (John). The clan surname is an Anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic "Mac Gille Eathain" ...
'',
945
Year 945 ( CMXLV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Byzantine Empire
* January 27 – The co-emperors Stephen and Constantine are overthrown barely ...
S.C.R. 62 which stated that the
proper law
The doctrine of the proper law is applied in the choice of law stage of a lawsuit involving the conflict of laws.
Explanation
When the jurisdiction is in dispute, one or more state laws will be relevant to the decision-making process. If the law ...
to apply would always be the ''
lex fori In conflict of laws, the term ''lex loci'' (Latin for "the law of the place") is a shorthand version of the choice of law rules that determine the ''lex causae'' (the laws chosen to decide a case).''Black's Law Dictionary'' abridged Sixth Edition (1 ...
'', the local law of the court, irrespective of the connection with the jurisdiction.
Tolofson case
A father and son from British Columbia are driving in Saskatchewan and are in a motor vehicle accident with Leroy Jensen, a resident of Saskatchewan. The son, Kim Tolofson, sues both Jensen and his father. Under Saskatchewan law the claimant must prove gross negligence in order for a gratuitous passenger to recover and the limitation period is 12 months. Kim did not sue for six years once he became 18 years old.
Lucas case
The Gagnon family from Ontario were driving in Quebec and were in a motor vehicle accident with Mr. Lavoie, a Quebec resident. No action was allowed under Quebec no-fault system.
Ruling of the Court
Justice La Forest wrote for the majority. He considered the issue of territorial limits of jurisdiction. He concluded that the general policy interests were those of order and fairness. He was highly concerned of confusion resulting from complex rules.
La Forest explicitly stated that exceptions to this rule should be rare. He argued that exceptions would "encourage frivolous cross-claims and joinders of third parties", it would create uncertainty, discourage judges to make summary judgments, and would discourage settlement. He contemplated that there may be exception at the international level where there may be injustice or where both parties are
domicile
Domicile may refer to:
* Home, a place where someone lives
* Domicile (astrology), the zodiac sign over which a planet has rulership
* Domicile (law)
Domicile is relevant to an individual's "personal law," which includes the law that governs a p ...
d in the forum.
[p. 310]
Alberta later enacted a ''Limitations Act'' (R.S.A. 2000, c. L‑12, s. 12) to get around the result in Tolofson.
Subsequent cases have considered the limits of the exception to the Tolofson rule. In ''Hanlan v Sernesky'' (1998, Ont.CA) where the court found exception to the rule on an international matter. However, similar reasoning was rejected on provincial matters in ''Leornard v Houle'' (1997, Ont.CA).
See also
*
List of Supreme Court of Canada cases
The Supreme Court of Canada is the court of last resort and final appeal in Canada. Cases that are successfully appealed to the Court are generally of national importance. Once a case is decided the Court will publish written reasons for the deci ...
* ''
Boys v Chaplin
''Boys v Chaplin'' 971AC 356 is a leading conflict of laws case decided by the House of Lords.
Facts
The plaintiff, a passenger on a motorcycle, was injured through the negligence of the defendant whose car had hit the motorcycle. The plaintif ...
''
969
Year 969 ( CMLXIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar, the 969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 1st millennium, the 69th ...
2 All E.R. 1085 (H.L.)
* ''
Red Sea Insurance Co Ltd v Bouygues SA
''Red Sea Insurance Co Ltd v Bouygues SA'' 9951 AC 190 is a judicial decision of the Privy Council relating to choice of law in tort. The case was an appeal from the decision of the Court of Appeal of Hong Kong, but as the case was decided in ...
''
995
Year 995 (Roman numerals, CMXCV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Japan
* 17 May - Fujiwara no Michitaka (imperial regent) dies.
* 3 June: Fujiwara no ...
1 AC 190 (P.C.)
* ''
Morguard Investments Ltd v De Savoye ''Morguard Investments Ltd v De Savoye'', 9903 SCR 1077 is the leading decision of the Supreme Court of Canada on the enforcement of extraprovincial judgments. The Court held that the standard for enforcing a default judgment from a different provi ...
'',
990
Year 990 ( CMXC) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Europe
* Al-Mansur, ''de facto'' ruler of Al-Andalus, conquers the Castle of Montemor-o-Velho (mode ...
3 S.C.R. 1077, and
* ''
Hunt v T&N plc
''Hunt v T&N plc'', 9934 S.C.R. 289 is a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of Canada on conflict of laws. The Court ruled that the Quebec law prohibiting the removal of company documents from the province was constitutionally inapplicable to a ...
'',
993
Year 993 ( CMXCIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Europe
* Spring – The 12-year-old King Otto III gives the Sword of Saints Cosmas and Damian ...
4 S.C.R. 289
References
Sources
* J. Walker, "'Are we there yet?' Towards a New Rule For Choice of Law in Tort" (2000) 38 Osgoode Hall Law Journal 331.
External links
* {{lexum-scc2, 1994, 3, 1022, 44
Blakes comments on limitations shopping
Conflict of laws case law
Supreme Court of Canada cases
1994 in Canadian case law