The first defence raised by the City of Toronto was that Ms. Guy’s lawsuit was barred by the Municipal Act because she failed to give notice of her claim in writing by registered mail and within seven days (note that current requirement is 10 days).

Ms. Guy’s fall occurred on March 11, 1999.  Five days later she wrote a handwritten letter to the City about her fall. She sent the note by regular mail.  The City received the letter on March 22, 1999, eleven days after the fall. Her note stated the following:

I, Veir Guy, of the above mentioned address, fell down on the alley between Greenwood and Danforth immediately after leaving the Greenwood subway station.

The City argued that by the time they received the letter all the snow and ice would have melted due to weather conditions. Thus, they were denied the chance to inspect the site. Read the rest of this entry »

On December 15, 2008, Justice A.J. Stong of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice released the Guy v. Toronto (City) court case involving a slip & fall accident. The case touches on a number of important legal issues involving liability in slip & falls on municipal property.

The Facts

On March 11, 1999, Ms. Vier Guy and her husband were on their way to Robotech school located on Greenwood Avenue in the City of Toronto. They took the Bloor/Danforth TTC subway line to Greenwood Station.  After exiting the station on Linnsmore Cres., they started walking westbound on a laneway to get to Greenwood Ave. There was an accumulation of snow on the ground as there had been a snowstorm in Toronto a few days earlier. Suddenly, Ms. Guy slipped and fell on a thick accumulation of ice which had been concealed by snow.

Ms. Guy hit her head and buttocks on the ice in the fall. Read the rest of this entry »