Law Times

Page 12 September 30, 2013 Law Times • FOCUS Lac-Mégantic disaster Quebec train derailment spawns mass of lawsuits BY JuDY VAN RHIJN For Law Times I n the wake of the horrific train derailment in Lac-Mégantic, Que., lawyers have been busy filing lawsuits on both sides through the courts for years to come. While there have been humanitarian and environmental disasters that intersect in the past, the Quebec disaster that killed 47 residents of the small of the Canada-U.S. border. With cross-border claims for wrongful death, environmental cleanup costs, reimbursement for fees already paid, and class actions already underway in Quebec and Illinois, the disaster will echo get the latest on small claims court practice New eDiTiON oNtario small claims court Practice 2014 MR. JuSTICE MARvIn A. ZukER AnD J. SEbASTIAn WInny For almost 35 years, Ontario Small Claims Court Practice has offered comprehensive coverage of every aspect of commencing or defending a claim to appeals and enforcement of a judgment. The new 2014 edition is updated to include all the latest cases and the most recent amendments to the Small Claims Court rules and forms. BoNus offer for staNdiNg order suBscriBers Get Practice Advisor free with a standing order subscription to ontario small claims court Practice 2014. Emailed to you quarterly, this service includes the most up-to-date information affecting practice in Small Claims Court. With this latest edition, Justice Marvin A. Zuker is joined by J. Sebastian Winny as co-author. New iN this editioN • All amendments to the Small Claims rules and forms including the latest amendments in force January 1, 2013 (O. 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AvAilAble RiSk-FRee FOR 30 DAyS Order online: www.carswell.com Call Toll-Free: 1-800-387-5164 in Toronto: 416-609-3800 town and devastated its downtown area seems to be unprecedented in complexity and scope. Shannon Puddister, an associate at Lerners LLP with an engineering background, struggles to think of a similar disaster in Canada's history. He mentions the 2012 propane explosion in Red Deer, Alta., and the Hagersville, Ont., tire fire in 1990 that burned out of control for 17 days. "But this is really unique in its impact. The frightening thing is that it happened in the middle of a town at night and involved the transportation of dangerous substances. It caught the attention of the media and made people want to know more." Not only does the case involve "everybody and his uncle" in the Quebec corporate bar, as one lawyer acting for an insurer in the case put the situation, it also engages an incredible number of legal issues. "It is interesting from a legal perspective, but unfortunately for the people involved, it's a legal quagmire," says Puddister. "Just in the last weeks, the Transportation Safety Board has raised a question regarding the nature of the fuel carried and whether the rail cars were appropriate for the fuel being carried. They say there is never only one mistake that causes a problem like this. A lot of fingers will be pointed in a lot of directions." The most obvious entities for liability on the tort side are the owner of the fuel, who also tends to own the tank cars, and the AN EssENtiAl Courtroom rEfErENCE for oNtArio Civil litigAtors New editioN OntariO Civil PraCtiCe 2014 Garry D. Watson, Q.C. anD MiChael McGoWan Ontario Civil Practice 2014 is a complete courtroom reference featuring expert commentary on how the rules of civil procedure are interpreted and applied in specific situations. this resource includes: • More than 8000 case annotations • Professor Watson's indispensible Annual Survey of Recent Developments in Civil Procedure • the full text of the rules of Civil Procedure, the Courts of Justice Act and related legislation, practice directions, and case management rules and annotations • CD-roM that contains all ontario court forms in Word document format • a free Mobipocket eBook version for your BlackBerry® new and Updated in this edition • hundreds of new case digests • the annual survey of recent Developments in Civil Procedure • the latest legislative amendments • amendments of rules of Civil Procedure which came into force on January 1, 2013 • amendments to Family law rules which came into force november 30, 2012 and January 1, 2013 • amendments to small Claims Court rules which came into force January 1, 2013 speCiAl oFFeR FoR stANdiNg oRdeR subsCRibeRs With a standing order, you are entitled to receive the Practice Advisor, a bi-weekly email designed to keep you up to date on legislative and case law changes. Order # 985318-65203 $103 hardcover + softcover + CD-roM + Mobipocket eBook august 2013 approx. 1825 pages (hardcover) approx. 1125 pages (softcover) 978-0-7798-5318-2 annual volumes supplied on standing order subscription Practice Advisor available on standing order subscription upon request Multiple copy discounts available Shipping and handling are extra. Price subject to change without notice and subject to applicable taxes. The Trademark BlackBerry is owned by Research In Motion Limited and is registered in the United States and may be pending or registered in other countries. Thomson Reuters is not endorsed, sponsored, affiliated with or otherwise authorized by Research In Motion Limited. AvAilAble Risk-FRee FoR 30 dAys order online: www.carswell.com Call toll-Free: 1-800-387-5164 in toronto: 416-609-3800 'Often, the person liable civilly will be responsible environmentally, too, but not always,' says Shannon Puddister. transporter. There are questions about the chain of possession of the fuel during transport to New Brunswick from North Dakota. The fuel owner contracted with Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd., which passed the load to Montreal, Maine, and Atlantic Railway Inc. in Montreal. Puddister believes the transporter will start looking for other issues such as mechanical failure and human error. There are questions about the number of brakes applied by the engineer and the possible consequences of firefighters turning off the engine that powered the air brakes when attending a fire at the train prior to the accident. The possible causes of action include loss of life, revenue, and livelihoods; personal injury issues; family loss; and, potentially, a shareholder's claim. Then there's the environmental side. Unlike an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, it's possible to create a boundary around the area that will need regeneration but it is not so obvious as to who will pay. "In some cases when you are dealing with a tank split, it's simple to assign liability for the cleanup and pinpoint who's responsible for remediation efforts and monitoring efforts," says Puddister. "But regulatory issues are different to the question of who's ultimately responsible. Often, the person liable civilly will be responsible environmentally, too, but not always." There are also nuances to Quebec law to consider, including a special rule in the Quebec civil code that places the burden of fault on the owner of the fuel no matter how it got to where it was and also reverses the onus of proof. Quebec Environmental Minister Yves-François Blanchet has said three companies — MMA as well as World Fuel Services Corp. and subsidiary Western Petroleum Co. — will bear the costs of the environmental cleanup. All parties will be eagerly waiting for the Transportation Safety Board's investigative report, but Puddister warns its mandate isn't to collect evidence See Bankruptcy, page 13 www.lawtimesnews.com

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