This was a collision between two small pleasure craft on a lake. The Defendant admitted negligence but also alleged that the Plaintiff, the operator of the other vessel, had been partly at fault. When the collision occurred the Plaintiff had been heading west and the Defendant North. The Defendant was towing water tubers. The Defendant’s boat struck the Plaintiff’s boat …
Full SummaryBow Valley Husky Ltd. v. St. John Shipbuilding Ltd., 1997 CanLII 307
This is an extremely important case that all maritime law practitioners should read carefully. The case involved a breach of contract and negligence claim relating to the building of an off shore oil platform owned by the Plaintiff. The significant maritime law issue was whether the Plaintiff’s claim was barred by reason of contributory negligence. The Defendant argued that because …
Full SummaryMartin v. Derrach, 1997 CanLII 4614
This was a claim for personal injury damages arising out of a water skiing accident. The Plaintiff was being towed behind the Defendant’s Jet Ski when she collided with an anchored boat and severely injured her right leg. Although there was no spotter aboard the Jet Ski, the parties agreed that the absence of a spotter was not causative. The …
Full SummaryNewfoundland Processing Ltd. v. The "South Angela",, [1997] 1 FC 154
The issue in this case was who was responsible for an oil spill that occurred at the Come By Chance Oil refinery. The spill resulted after the Defendant vessel had discharged its cargo of crude and was involved in a line draining process. The Court held that both the Plaintiff and Defendant were equally at fault. The Plaintiff was at …
Full SummaryConrad v. Snair, 1995 CanLII 4175
This case involved a collision at night between a Boston Whaler and an anchored unlit sailboat. As a result of the collision, a passenger of the Boston Whaler was seriously injured. The issues concerned the liability for the collision, contributory negligence, and limitation of liability. Both the trial Judge and the Court of Appeal found that the driver of the …
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