Carriage of Passengers

Carriage of Passengers - Application of Provincial Laws

Croisières Charlevoix Inc. v. Quebec, 2012 QCCS 1646, 

The appellant was a shipbuilder and tourist boat operator based in La Malbaie, Quebec, with offices in Quebec City and Saint-Siméon. It primarily provided tourist excursions for watching whales and marine mammals on the St. Lawrence River in Quebec. In each of 2005 and 2006, the appellant made one excursion between Quebec and Ontario. In 2007 and 2008, the appellant organized three interprovincial cruises. The appellant was found guilty and fined for having operated as a carrier of passengers by water without the permit required by ss. 36 and 74.1 of Quebec's Transport Act, R.S.Q., c. T-12, and sect. 1 of its Regulation respecting the transport of passengers by water, R.R.Q., c. T-12, r. 15. The appellant appealed to the Quebec Superior Court, arguing that its operations were within exclusive federal jurisdiction and that it was not bound by the provincial statute and regulations. The appellant also argued that its tourist excursions did not constitute "transport" within the meaning of Quebec's Transport Act. Quebec’s Transport Act applies to the "transport of persons... by... water from one place to another... by ship" . The appellant argued the Act did not apply because the tourists transported on the cruises concerned embarked and disembarked at the same "place".

Decision: Appeal dismissed and conviction upheld.

Held: The appellate Judge held that ss. 91(29) and 92(10)(a) and (b) of the Constitution Act, when read together, exclude marine transport operations carried on within the boundaries of a single province from the jurisdiction of Parliament. Where some operations of a marine carrier are carried on intraprovincially and others extraprovincially, the business becomes subject to federal legislation exclusively, but only if the extraprovincial operations are "regular and continuous” and not where such activities are merely "occasional or exceptional". The appellate Judge also rejected the appellant’s argument that the provincial Transport Act did not apply holding that the appellant’s interpretation was far too restrictive and one that would not coincide with the intention of the legislator. Moreover, the definition of “lieu” in Le Petit Robert dictionary (2000) was wide enough to include the site visited and the area travelled, as well as the points of embarkation and disembarkation.

Comment: Regrettably this decision is reported only in French. Therefore, this summary is based on a translation provided by Robert Wilkins of Borden Ladner Gervais, Montreal.

Limitation of Liability - Pleasure Craft - Collisions - Interest - Passengers

Buckley v. Buhlman, 2012 FCA 9, 

The plaintiffs brought this action for limitation of liability under Part 3 of the Marine Liability Act. The plaintiffs were the owners of a fishing lodge that offered their guests the use of boats and motors. The defendants were a family of four who were guests at the lodge. During the defendants’ stay at the lodge they were involved in a collision between two of the plaintiffs’ boats. The first boat was operated by one of the plaintiffs and had two of the defendants as passengers. The second boat was operated by one of the defendants with the fourth defendant as a passenger. The defendants in the second boat were injured. The main issue in the case was whether the applicable limitation was under s. 28 or s. 29 of the MLA. At the time s. 29 applied to “passengers” of ships of less than 300 gross tons and provided a limit of liability of at least 2 million SDRs (approximately CDN$3 million). Section 28 applied to all ships of less than 300 gross tons except passenger claims under s. 29 and provided for a limit of liability of $1 million. (The limitations of Part 4 of the MLA, which implements the Athens Convention, were not applicable as the defendants were not passengers “under a contract of carriage”.) The term “passenger” is a defined term in Part 3 of the MLA and includes a person carried on board a vessel “operated for a commercial or public purpose”. The parties apparently presented arguments relating to whether the vessels were used for commercial purposes. However, at trial, the Judge pointed out that this argument was misplaced. The trial Judge noted that the two defendants who were injured were not aboard the vessel operated by one of the plaintiffs. Therefore, regardless of whether the vessels were used for a commercial purpose, the injured defendants were not passengers vis-a-vis the plaintiffs and the s. 29 limitation did not apply. Accordingly, the limitation applicable was $1 million under s. 28. The trial Judge further dealt with a subsidiary issue of whether the limitation amount included interest and costs and held that it did not. The defendants appealed to the Federal Court of Appeal arguing that the limitation should have been under s. 29.

Decision: Appeal dismissed.

Held: The appellate Court agreed that s. 29 of the MLA had no application as the injured parties were not on board the first boat. The Court noted that Art. 7 of the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims, from which s. 29 of the MLA is derived, favoured the interpretation that s. 29 applies only to persons on board the ship seeking to limit liability. A cross-appeal from the trial Judge’s decision that the limitation amount was exclusive of interest and costs was abandoned. The Court said this was a question to be left for another day.

Comment: This case concerns sections 28 and 29 of the Marine Liability Act but the Reasons for Judgment refer to the section numbers as they existed in 2006. This can be confusing for anyone familiar with the current numbering because the section numbers have since been transposed. What was s. 28 is now s. 29 and vice versa. To be consistent with the Reasons and to avoid adding to the confusion, I have decided to use the 2006 section numbers in this summary

Carriage of Passengers - Settlement of Class Action - Psychological Injuries

Kotai  v. Queen of the North (Ship), 2010 BCSC 1180, 

This was an application under the B.C. Class Proceedings Act for court approval of a settlement reached between the parties relating to the sinking of the “Queen of the North” on 22 March 2006. The Court balanced the position of the class members other than the infants against the position of the public guardian and trustee, who did not support the settlement. The Court concluded that the proposed settlement was fair and reasonable, was in the best interests of the class as a whole and should be approved.

Air Carriage - Passengers - Montreal Convention - Damages for Mental Anguish

Lukacs  v. United Airlines, 2009 MBCA 111, 

This was an application for leave to appeal a trial decision refusing general damages under Article 19 of the Montreal Convention for mental anguish and a missed opportunity resulting from a cancelled flight. The Court of Appeal denied leave on the basis that Article 19 of the Montreal Convention has been previously examined by appellate courts around the world and the law is clear that general damages for inconvenience or mental anguish are not compensable under the Montreal Convention.

Personal Injury - Psychological Injury – Passengers - Athens Convention

Kotai  v. The “Queen of the North”, 2009 BCSC 1405, 

This was a preliminary decision in the class action arising out of the sinking of the “Queen of the North”. This decision assessed the damages of a representative sample of the plaintiffs who were passengers on the vessel at the time of the sinking. The most important aspect of the decision relates to the assessment of psychological injures allegedly suffered. The Court reviewed the authorities on psychological injury or nervous shock and ultimately held that a plaintiff must establish he or she suffered a recognized psychiatric illness to recover for psychological injury or nervous shock. Mere psychological disturbance or upset is not sufficient. The Court further held that the test was the same regardless of whether the plaintiff was actually involved in the accident or merely witnessed the accident. With this framework, the Court then evaluated the claims of six plaintiffs. The Court found that three of the plaintiffs had suffered no recognizable psychological injury. The other three plaintiffs were awarded damages of $500, $7,500 and $12,000 respectively. (It should be noted that the defendant in the case admitted that psychological injuries were recoverable under provincial law and withdrew its earlier position that such injuries were not compensable under the Athens Convention. Thus the compensability of psychological injuries under the Athens Convention was presumed and was not decided. This was clarified in supplementary reasons issued at 2009 BCSC 1604.)

Fatal Injury - Damages

McDonald  v. The "Queen of the North", 2009 BCSC 1129, 

This was an application under the B.C. Infants Act for court approval of a settlement reached with the plaintiffs, the two surviving children of one of the passengers who died as a result of the sinking of the “Queen of the North” on 22 March 2006. The Court assessed the headings of loss of love, guidance and affection, past loss of financial support, loss of future financial support and loss of inheritance and approved the settlement as entirely fair and advantageous to the infants. The total amount of the settlement approved was $200,000.

Carriage of Passengers - Athens Convention - Jurisdiction Clause

Nicolazzo  v. Princess Cruises, 2009 CanLII 28217, 

The plaintiffs in this matter had booked a cruise with the defendant through the plaintiff’s travel agent in Hamilton, Ontario. They embarked in Italy and disembarked in England. During the cruise $5,000 was stolen from the safe in the plaintiffs’ stateroom. The plaintiffs commenced this action to recover the stolen money. The defendant brought a motion to dismiss the claim on the basis that the court lacked territorial jurisdiction over the action. The motion was denied at first instance. On appeal, the appeal Judge held that the Athens Convention applied and that pursuant to Article 17 of the Convention the action could not be brought in Canada as the defendant had no place of business in Canada. The appeal was allowed and the action was dismissed.

Fatal Injury - Infants -

McDonald  v. The "Queen of the North", 2009 BCSC 646 , 

This was an application seeking court directions with respect to the process to be followed under the B.C. Infants Act which requires court approval of any settlement involving minors. The plaintiff requested that the hearing for court approval be held “in camera” and that the settlement not be publicly divulged. The Court noted that it had the power to do as requested but said such decisions should not be lightly made and denied the request.

Fatal Accident – Dependents Claims – Marine Liability Act - Athens Convention - Availability of Punitive and Aggravated Damages

McDonald  v. Queen of the North (Ship),  2008 BCSC 1777, 

This is the final reported decision arising out of the sinking of the Queen of the North. The issue in this matter was whether punitive and aggravated damages are recoverable in a wrongful death action brought by dependents pursuant to the Marine Liability Act and the Athens Convention. The Court extensively reviewed the case law relating to the recovery of punitive and aggravated damages under wrongful death statutes. The Court concluded that claims under the Athens Convention and the Marine Liability Act are compensatory in nature and do not permit the recovery of punitive or exemplary damages. The Court further held that the Marine Liability Act did not permit recovery of aggravated damages. The Court also considered and declined a request by the Plaintiff to reform Canadian maritime law by permitting claims for punitive and aggravated damages in these circumstances.

Carriage of Passengers - Athens Convention - Collision - Personal Injury - Limitation of Liability

Gundersen  v. Finn Marine Ltd., 2008 BCSC 1665, 

The Plaintiff was seriously injured when the vessel in which she was riding ran into Salt Spring Island. The vessel was a commercial water taxi and at the time of the accident it was on its way to pick up passengers. The Plaintiff, however, was not a paying passenger but was onboard as a non-paying guest. The Judge found as a fact that the incident occurred when the operator of the vessel fell asleep. The Defendants, the owner and operator of the vessel, applied for an order that they were entitled to limit their liability pursuant to Part 4 of the Marine Liability Act (“MLA”) dealing with carriage of passengers. The Plaintiff argued that the applicable limitation was found in Part 3 of the MLA, which would have been a substantially higher limitation. The Plaintiff also argued that the Defendants conduct was such that they had lost the right to limit. Dealing with the first issue the Judge agreed with the Defendants and held that the right to limit was to be found in Part 4 of the MLA and the Athens Convention. In so doing the Judge applied s.37(2) of the MLA which extends the Athens Convention “to domestic gratuitous passengers on a vessel operated for a commercial purpose”. The Judge next turned to the issue of whether the Defendants had lost the right to limit by reason that “the damage resulted from an act or omission of the carrier done with the intent to cause such damage, or recklessly and with knowledge that such damage would probably result”. The Judge noted that the onus of proof was on the Plaintiff, that it was a “heavy” onus, and that the reckless component required gross negligence and actual knowledge that the loss would probably result. The Judge ultimately held that the accident was not intentional, that the conduct of the operator was not gross negligence and that, in any event, the Plaintiff failed to establish that the operator knew the Plaintiff’s injuries would probably result. In result, the Defendants were entitled to limit their liability. (Note: If the vessel had been a pleasure craft being used for pleasure purposes then it is probable that Part 3 of the MLA would apply instead of Part 4.)

Ferry Sinking – Athens Convention -Fatal Accident - Juries - Severance of issues

Kotai  v. Queen of the North (Ship), 2008 BCSC 1398, 

This was another application arising out of the sinking of the Queen of the North on 21 March 2006. This was an application by the ship owner for various relief including striking the jury notice. The ship owner argued, among other things, that the case was not appropriate for determination by a jury because the principal question in the action would be the construction of Article 13 of the Athens Convention relating to limitation of liability. The Court, however, noted that there is heavy burden to displace the plaintiff’s right to have a trial by jury and held any issues of construction could be separated from issues of fact.

Ferry Sinking - Athens Convention - Certification of Class Action

Kotai v. Queen of the North (Ship), 2007 BCSC 1056, 

This was an application to certify a class action on behalf of passengers (and their dependants) of the Queen of the North which sank after running into Gill Island on 21 March 2006. The Court reviewed the requirement for certifying a class action under the Class Proceedings Act of British Columbia. These are: 1. there is a cause of action; 2. there is an identifiable class; 3. there are common issues; 4. a class proceeding is the preferred procedure for the fair and efficient resolution of the common issues; and 5. there is a representative plaintiff who can fairly and adequately represent the class interest, has a workable litigation plan and is not in conflict of interest with other class members. The Court found that all of the requirements had been met except those requirements relating to a representative plaintiff. Thus the application was adjourned so an appropriate representative plaintiff could be found. (Note: This issue was later overcome and the class action was subsequently certified.)

Personal Injury - Athens Convention - Limitation Period - No Power to Extend - Applicable Law

Russell et al. v. MacKay, 2007 NBCA 55, 

The Plaintiff was a passenger on a whale watching vessel and was injured at sea when she tripped over a cooler while leaving the washroom on the vessel. The accident occurred on 3 August 2003 but action was not commenced until 20 July 2006. The Defendants brought this motion to dismiss the Plaintiff's claim on the grounds that it was statute-barred by the two year limitation period in the Athens Convention as enacted by the Marine Liability Act. The Plaintiff argued that the applicable limitation period was six years as provided the New Brunswick Limitation of Actions Act. Alternatively, the Plaintiff argued that the Court had the discretion to suspend or interrupt the running of the limitation period. The trial Judge concluded that the Plaintiff's claim was in pith and substance in relation to navigation and shipping and governed by federal Canadian maritime law and not the provincial limitations statute. The trial Judge then considered whether the court had a discretion to suspend or interrupt the running of the limitation period. The trial Judge referred to art. 16(3) of the Athens Convention which provides that “The law of the court seized of the case shall govern the grounds of suspension and interruption of limitation periods...”. The trial Judge held that the phrase “law of the court seized of the case” referred to Canadian maritime law and not the law of New Brunswick. The trial Judge noted that a three part test had been established to determine when an extension of a limitation period should be made under s. 572(3) of the Canada Shipping Act and that this was the appropriate test to apply. The test was: 1. did the Plaintiff have a valid prima facie case; 2. was the Defendant aware of the claim and would it suffer prejudice by an extension, other than the loss of the limitation defence; and 3. having regard to all the circumstances, was it in the best interest of justice that time be extended. Applying this test the trial Judge held it was in the best interests of justice that the limitation period be interrupted or extended.

On appeal to the New Brunswick Court of Appeal, the Court of Appeal agreed with the trial Judge that the case was to be governed by federal maritime law and further agreed that the limitation period was to be found in the Athens Convention but disagreed with respect to the powers of the court to suspend or extend the limitation period. Specifically, the Court of Appeal said that the trial Judge erred in relying upon and applying the test flowing from the old s. 572(3) of the Canada Shipping Act which dealt with collisions between ships (as does its successor in s.23 of the Marine Liability Act ) not injuries to passengers. The Court said that Art. 16 of the Athens Convention did not include any power to extend the limitation period and held that superior courts do not have inherent powers to extend limitation periods. The Court of Appeal next considered the meaning of Art. 16(3) and noted that the reference to the law of the court seized of the case did not imply such law would necessarily provide grounds for suspension or interruption. The Court held that there was no federal legislation that would provide grounds for suspension or interruption. Finally, the Court considered whether the law should be reformed to include a power to suspend or interrupt a limitation period and suggested, without deciding, that 1) waiver; (2) estoppel; (3) absence from the jurisdiction; (4) infancy; and (5) mental incompetency might be grounds. However, as the evidentiary record supported none of these grounds, the matter was not decided.

Carriage of Passengers – Jurisdiction Clause – Athens Convention

Friesen  v. Norwegian Cruise Lines et al., 2003 BCSC 256, 

This was an application by the Defendant to stay proceedings commenced in British Columbia on the grounds of a jurisdiction clause contained in the passenger ticket. The Plaintiff, a British Columbia resident, was injured on an Alaskan cruise ship which had departed from the port of Vancouver. The Plaintiff argued that the matter was governed by the Athens Convention; Article 17 of which gave her the right to commence the proceedings in British Columbia. The Court, however, held that the Athens Convention was not applicable since Canada had not enacted the Convention at the time of the Plaintiff's accident. Moreover, the fact that the vessel was registered in the Bahamas, a signatory to the Convention, was held to not be sufficient to make Bahamian law applicable. The Court therefore held that the test set out in The Eleftheria, [1969] 2 All E.R. 641, was applicable and the onus was on the Plaintiff to establish a strong cause for not enforcing the jurisdiction clause. The Court held that the Plaintiff had met this onus in that virtually all of the witnesses resided in British Columbia and a stay of the action in favour of Florida would come close to denying the Plaintiff access to a court at all.

Failure to War

Efford  v. Bundy , Victoria Registry No. 1158/92 (B.C.S.C.) , 

In this matter the Plaintiff was injured on board a rigid hull inflatable boat while whale watching off Tofino, British Columbia. The Plaintiff injured her back when the bow of the boat came down hard when crossing the wake of a large fishing vessel. The Plaintiff alleged the Defendant was negligent in his operation of the boat and in failing to warn of the danger. The Court found that the Defendant had operated the boat in accordance with accepted safe boating practices but it also found that the Defendant had failed to adequately warn the Plaintiff. Specifically, the Court held that it was not sufficient that the Defendant had advised the Plaintiff that the bow seat was the roughest and that people with back problems should sit further back. The Court held that the Defendant should also have instructed passengers with respect to the location of safe handholds and the way in which to brace themselves. Nevertheless, the Plaintiff was found 75% at fault because she had a prior back problem and had been warned by her doctors to avoid heavy lifting. For the full text of this decision, click here.