In this matter the Plaintiff commenced proceedings against the Defendant in Hawaii in relation to a contract for the design, manufacture and sale of a tuna fishing boat. The Defendant initially contested the jurisdiction of the Hawaiian courts but after having lost its jurisdiction motion withdrew from that action. The Plaintiff subsequently obtained a default judgment against the Defendant and …
Full SummaryDSL Corporation v. Bulk Atlantic Inc., 2003 FC 1061
The Plaintiff claimed against the Defendant for damage to steel pipe carried from Turkey to Houston. The Defendant applied to set aside the ex juris service of the Statement of Claim or stay the proceedings on the grounds there was no real and substantial connection between the matter and Canada. The Plaintiff was an American company, one of the Defendants …
Full SummaryHerrenknecht Tunnelling Systems USA Inc. v. Canadian Pacific Railway, 2002 FCT 1089
The issue in this case was whether the Federal Court had jurisdiction over a claim for damage caused to cargo during the course of carriage from Quebec to Tacoma, Washington. The cargo was damaged when the train derailed in Ontario. The Judge identified the test as being: 1. There must be a statutory grant of jurisdiction by the federal parliament; …
Full SummaryCyber Sea Technologies Inc. v. Underwater Harvester, 2002 FCT 794
In this matter a submersible was arrested and the Defendant brought an application, inter alia, to release the submersible without bail or, in the alternative, to post security. The grounds for the Defendant’s application were that the action was without merit and that the dispute was subject to arbitration. The Prothonotary held that it is only in exceptional circumstances that …
Full SummaryRadil Bros. Fishing Co. Ltd. v. Her Majesty the Queen et al., 2001 FCA 317
The facts of this case are quite complicated involving licence swaps, fishing quotas and catch history. One of the issues in the case was whether the Federal Court had jurisdiction to entertain a claim arising out of an agreement of purchase and sale of a fishing licence. The Federal Court of Appeal concluded that such a claim did not fall …
Full SummaryRoyal & Sun Alliance v. The "Renegade III", 2001 FCT 1050
This was an application for a stay of proceedings. The applicant was the owner of the Defendant yacht which had been damaged during the 2000 Victoria-Maui race. The applicant made a claim under his insurance policy for approximately $122,000 which was paid except for the sum of approximately $12,000. Subsequent to the payment the underwriters learned of circumstances which might …
Full SummaryRuby Trading S.A. v. Parsons et al., [2001] 2 FC 174
This matter concerned the jurisdiction of the Federal Court to entertain an action by a foreign ship owner against foreign crew members for breach of contract of employment and against a Canadian union for inducing breach of contract. While the "Japan Rainbow II" was loading a cargo of grain wage demands were made by the Defendants which were not satisfied …
Full SummaryJohn E. Canning Ltd. v. Tripap Inc., 2000 CanLII 15207
This was an application to dismiss the Plaintiff’s claim on the grounds that it was not a maritime matter and the Federal Court lacked jurisdiction. The claim arose from an agreement between the Plaintiff and Defendant pursuant to which the Plaintiff had agreed to sell and deliver by barge wood to the Defendant. The Defendant later purported to terminate the …
Full SummaryPantainer Ltd. v. 996660 Ontario Ltd., 2000 CanLII 15080
This was a claim for freight charges owing. The Defendant alleged that it was entitled to a set-off for damage caused to cargo carried by the Defendant. The Court held the general rule was that freight is to be paid without deduction and that the Defendant accordingly had no right of set-off. One of the issues in this case was …
Full SummaryCorner Brook Pulp & Paper Ltd v. Comm. Energy & Paper Workers Union, 1999 CanLII 8507
This was an ex parte application for an injunction to restrain the Defendants from picketing the Plaintiff’s wharf. The Defendants had erected a rope fence in the water opposite the Plaintiff’s wharf and used small boats to allegedly interfere with vessels intending to dock at the wharf. The court noted that only in the most exceptional circumstances will an ex …
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