Neston v. Quadri was heard at the end of December and is an Ontario Superior Court of Justice action that dealt with whether personal injuries arising from a motor vehicle accident involving two Ontario residents, which took place in Quebec can be the subject of a civil action for damages. A Rule 21 motion was brought to determine whether the action could proceed.
The defendant brought a motion for a determination of law citing that since the incident took place in Quebec, Quebec law applies and the plaintiff has no right to bring a civil action for her injuries.
However, the plaintiff argued that because both the plaintiff and defendant resided in Ontario, that the proper forum would be Ontario.
Quebec's Automobile Insurance Act , s. 83.57, provides that no action may be brought to recover damages from an at-fault driver for bodily injury caused by a motor vehicle accident that takes place in Quebec.
This was upheld by the Supreme Court of Canada in Tolofson v. Jensen; Lucas (Litigation Guardian of) v. Gagnon, 1994 CanLII 44 (SCC), [1994] 3 SCR 1022 which held that "residents of Ontario injured in motor vehicle accidents in Quebec are barred by Quebec substantive law from bringing a legal action to recover damages".
The Ontario Court concluded that because the accident in which the plaintiff was injured took place in Quebec, Quebec law applies, and the plaintiff has no right to sue.
Therefore, if ever involved in a motor vehicle accident in Quebec, please note that the Quebec Automobile Insurance Act prevents the recovery of damages for bodily injury that resulted from the accident.
Safe driving!
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