Ontario Court Rejects Forum of Necessity Argument

Andrew Ottaway, B.A. (Hons.), LL.B.Cross-Border Litigation, Negligence, Of Interest to US Counsel, Slip & Fall, Travel & Tour Operators0 Comments

In Cook v 1293037 Alberta Ltd., the Ontario Plaintiff was allegedly injured in an incident at the Defendant’s Alberta hotel.  The Plaintiff commenced an action in Ontario respecting the incident nearly two years after the incident occurred.  The Defendant brought a motion to dismiss the Ontario action on the grounds that Ontario did not have jurisdiction over the claim.  By the time the Defendant brought the motion, more than two years had passed since the incident. The Ontario Court applied the test for jurisdiction simpliciter set out by the Supreme Court of Canada in Club Resorts Ltd. v. Van Breda – i.e. whether the claim had a “real and substantial connection” to Ontario.  The Plaintiff argued that the Defendant corporation was “domiciled or resident in Ontario” because one of the corporation’s directors had moved to Toronto, Ontario following the incident.  The Court rejected this argument, stating that there was no evidence that the … Read More