Cities are liable for bad snowplowing

In January 2015, Nelson’s city snowplows did what they always do: plowed along the streets, and created a huge snowbank between the street and the sidewalk.  Getting across the street required climbing over the snowbank.  When Taryn Marchi tried to get over the snowbank, she fell and seriously injured her leg.  BC Supreme Court Justice McEwan dismissed her case in 2019, saying: “She was the author of her own misfortune”.  Our Court of Appeal disagreed in 2020, finding the trial judge had erred in three key matters: the city’s duty of care, the standard of care it owed Ms. Marchi, and the city’s assertion that Ms. Marchi was herself at fault.  The Appeal Court ordered a new trial as to Ms. March’s losses.

Nelson appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada.  On 21 October 2021, the Court ruled that our Court of Appeal was right, and ordered a new trial as to Ms. Marchi’s losses: https://canlii.ca/t/jjs98.

Trail BC lawyer Danielle Daroux: https://www.darouxlaw.ca/ ran this case from trial to appeal.  She is wonderful counsel.

The rule is: if the city creates a hazard (here, by making a wall of snow blocking pedestrians from cross the road), it’s liable for that.

Let’s hope that Nelson does the honourable thing now, and settles Ms. Marchi’s claim for her injuries.  That would be the Clearly-right option. 

I’m holding my breath….