Really Ontario? (silly law content)

[Deluge Of Sound]

Lawsuit could make designated drivers liable for intoxicated passengers
Woman, who leapt from moving car during domestic dispute, sues driver

Article below:

Kirk Makin
Toronto — From Saturday's Globe and Mail
Published on Friday, May. 28, 2010 7:13PM EDT
Last updated on Friday, May. 28, 2010 7:14PM EDT
A lawsuit launched by a woman who leapt from a moving car during a domestic squabble may make people think twice about being a designated driver.

The lawsuit, on its way to trial, could make designated drivers liable for intoxicated passengers who cause themselves harm.

The plaintiff, Inga Richardson, jumped out of a moving car at the crescendo of a fight with her common-law spouse. She suffered grave brain damage and injuries to her entire body after bouncing along the pavement of a three-lane artery in Oshawa, Ont.

Her lawyers – David MacDonald and Adrienne Kirsh – allege in a statement of claim that Ms. Richardson’s partner, Joey Sanayhie, ought to have supervised her copious consumption of alcohol at a party that night and prevented her from harming herself on the way home.

They contend that Mr. Sanayhie knew that Ms. Richardson had once leapt from a moving boat after she became agitated, and that he ought to have “restrained” her when similar circumstances arose on Nov. 24, 2007.

“He created a situation of emergency, danger and a trap for Inga Richardson from which, despite all precautions, she could not extricate herself,” they said.

Mr. MacDonald said Friday that Mr. Sanayhie still lives with Ms. Richardson and helps provide her with 24-hour-a-day care. Ms. Richardson suffers from headaches and dizziness, fatigue, blurred vision, permanent disfigurement and profound physical and emotional shock.

Designated drivers play a vital role in society, Mr. MacDonald said, but they must act responsibly. This includes paying heed to inside knowledge about a passenger’s potentially self-destructive behaviour, he said.

However, Mr. Sanayhie’s lawyers – John J. Adair and Greg Abogado – maintain that individuals will not agree to be designated drivers if they can be found legally liable for the misdeeds of their passengers.

“It is one thing to undertake to drive a few intoxicated friends,” they said in a statement of defence. “It is quite another altogether to be charged with supervising the same friends all night to ensure that they do not become intoxicated and remain safe at all times.”

In an interview, Mr. Adair said that the courts have repeatedly asserted that, while individuals have the right to make autonomous choices, they cannot simply blame others for their poor judgment.

“If designated drivers are required not only to remain sober themselves, but also to be responsible for their passengers’ level of sobriety, no person would ever agree to be a designated driver and perform this important function,” he said. “This is a development that clearly would not be in the public interest.”

Earlier this week, Mr. Sanayhie won a partial victory when Judge Edward Belobaba of Ontario Superior Court threw out a portion of Ms. Richardson’s claim. He ruled that a designated driver cannot be held responsible for how his passengers behave at a social event, prior to getting into a vehicle.

However, Judge Belobaba said that the critical question of whether Mr. Sanayhie was responsible for ensuring Ms. Richardson’s safety on the way home will be decided at a trial.

Mr. Adair said that it will change the law dramatically if his client is found to have had a duty to take positive steps to protect Ms. Richardson. “Such a duty could have a significant impact on the relationship between drivers and their passengers,” he said.

Mr. Adair said that anyone who agrees to drive another home - not only squabbling spouses - might be obliged to bodily strap passengers down to prevent them hurting themselves.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/...rticle1585217/

[Simo98]

They are right, he should have tied that woman up and put her in the boot on the way home so she couldn't hurt herself, that would have been a much better solution

[Fontaine]

Oh you mainlanders are crazy.

[Jim Campbell]

Originally Posted by Deluge Of Sound

Lawsuit could make designated drivers liable for intoxicated passengers
Woman, who leapt from moving car during domestic dispute, sues driver

Article below:


http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/...rticle1585217/

sadly,personal responsibility has left the building in canuckistan,and is unlikely to return any time soon.....

[iamlowsound]

Originally Posted by Jim Campbell

sadly,personal responsibility has left the building in canuckistan,and is unlikely to return any time soon.....

While the above is true, there is no way that she is going to win this one.

lowsound

[dave64o]

Let me make sure I understand... You're supposed to risk the lives of other people on the road while you lose control of your own moving car to get involved in a physical fight trying to stop a drunk idiot from jumping out of your moving car.

[Ayliffe]

Originally Posted by Jim Campbell

sadly,personal responsibility has left the building in canuckistan,and is unlikely to return any time soon.....

ya but i blame everyone else.

[Jim Campbell]

Originally Posted by iamlowsound

While the above is true, there is no way that she is going to win this one.

lowsound

the fact that someone would even contemplate a suit like this makes me uneasy......

[Stanley Design]

Originally Posted by Fontaine

Oh you mainlanders are crazy.

Agreed.

[TBrett]

Sigh... This smacks of another brilliant decision won in the Canadian Supreme Court many years ago, in which a guy was deemed not criminally responsible on a rape charge because he was intoxicated at the time and wasn't aware of what he was doing. That precedent was eventually successfully overturned, thank goodness – although, if memory serves correctly, it was at least 8 years before it was presented for consideration before the Appellate Court.

Whichever way this ridiculous defense approach about the designated driver being responsible for the actions of his or her intoxicated passenger plays out in court, I have to believe that at some point, common sense will prevail. How could it be criminally enforceable over a period of time? It will wind up (like so many other issues) as too much time and money wasted, I’m guessing. And such will be the legal judgment at the end of the day, IMO…Even if that day takes a few years to arrive. We’ll just have to see how the proposed defense plays out in court.

[jp58]

This is ridiculous. So because she managed to hurt herself drunk (who hasn't done that?) he is liable? For keeping someone that lept out of a moving vehicle from driving?


Whats next? Lawsuits against people who ignored calls from drunk friends who later drove and got DUI's?

[MakiSupaStar]

Lame.

[jmattbassplaya]

Originally Posted by jp58

This is ridiculous. So because she managed to hurt herself drunk (who hasn't done that?) he is liable? For keeping someone that lept out of a moving vehicle from driving?


Whats next? Lawsuits against people who ignored calls from drunk friends who later drove and got DUI's?

That`s a great idea! Time to call my lawyer!

Sadly I can easily see that happening

[sarcastro83]

Figures that this happened in Oshawa...

It is absolutely insulting that this brand of stupidity is eating up valuable court time when there are more pressing issues at hand... just pathetic.

[Phalex]

She should really be suing the vehicle manufacturer. They should have taken this into consideration before installing that handle on the inside of the passenger door. OH! And the city / province / country for not having the foresight to use Nerf material for paving their roadways!

It takes a village........

[Komakino]

I think we already have this covered in the UK, though maybe it doesn't go as far as drunken passengers, but here if you've under 14 you are the driver's responsibility. If you're over 14 you're your own responsibility.

[megadan]

That's not a law, it's a lawsuit. Big difference.

[sloasdaylight]

IMO, send a bunch of Texans to Canadialand and let them make a few laws here and there. I think number 1 would be: "If you try to make a law making DDs responsible for their passengers you're inviting a swift kick in the balls."

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Originally Posted by Jim Campbell

the fact that someone would even contemplate a suit like this makes me uneasy......

Couldn't agree more.

And if you leave a lass who's blitz out her nut to walk home there's a higher risk of her being attacked/raped etc.

This just prooves there is no winning with women.

[drteeth]

Should this pass, I'll give it three days before someone sues their designated drives for keeping him in the car against his will.