Case information
Conduct a refined search of the Supreme Court of Canada database to obtain details on the status of a matter before the Court.
31026
Stephen Simms, et al. v. William Isen
(Federal) (Civil) (By Leave)
Docket
Judgments on applications for leave to appeal are rendered by the Court, but are not necessarily unanimous.
| Date | Proceeding | Filed By (if applicable) |
|---|---|---|
| 2006-12-13 | Record returned to the Registrar of the Court of Appeal | |
| 2006-10-16 | Appeal closed | |
| 2006-10-06 | Formal judgment sent to the registrar of the court of appeal and all parties | |
| 2006-10-06 | Judgment on appeal and notice of deposit of judgment sent to all parties | |
| 2006-10-05 |
Judgment on the appeal rendered, CJ Ba Bi LeB De F Abe Cha Ro, The appeal from the judgment of the Federal Court of Appeal, Number A-127-04, 2005 FCA 161, dated May 6, 2005, heard on June 21, 2006, is allowed with costs in this Court and the courts below. Allowed, with costs |
|
| 2006-07-11 | Transcript received, (31 pages) | |
| 2006-06-21 | Judgment reserved OR rendered with reasons to follow | |
| 2006-06-21 | Acknowledgement and consent for video taping of proceedings, From all parties | |
| 2006-06-21 |
Hearing of the appeal, 2006-06-21, CJ Ba Bi LeB De F Abe Cha Ro Judgment reserved |
|
| 2006-06-08 | Notice of appearance, David R. Tenszen will be present at the hearing. | Stephen Simms |
| 2006-06-08 | Notice of appearance, Geoffrey Adair and Robert Ben will be present at the hearing. | William Isen |
| 2006-05-05 | Respondent's book of authorities, Completed on: 2006-05-05 | William Isen |
| 2006-05-05 | Respondent's factum, Completed on: 2006-05-05 | William Isen |
| 2006-05-04 | Appeal perfected for hearing | |
| 2006-03-13 | Notice of hearing sent to parties | |
| 2006-03-13 |
Appeal hearing scheduled, 2006-06-21, Previously June 16/06 Judgment reserved |
|
| 2006-03-09 | Appellant's book of authorities, Completed on: 2006-03-09 | Stephen Simms |
| 2006-03-09 | Appellant's factum, Completed on: 2006-03-09 | Stephen Simms |
| 2006-03-03 | Appellant's record, Completed on: 2006-03-03 | Stephen Simms |
| 2006-02-21 | Appeal court record, 1 parcel | |
| 2006-02-13 | Notice of change of counsel, from Marc D. Isaacs to Geoffrey D.E. Adair, Q.C. | William Isen |
| 2005-12-19 | Notice of appeal, Completed on: 2005-12-19 | Stephen Simms |
| 2005-11-28 | Letter advising the parties of tentative hearing date and filing deadlines (Leave granted) | |
| 2005-11-18 | Copy of formal judgment sent to Registrar of the Court of Appeal and all parties | |
| 2005-11-18 | Judgment on leave sent to the parties | |
| 2005-11-17 |
Judgment of the Court on the application for leave to appeal, The application for leave to appeal from the judgment of the Federal Court of Appeal, Number A-127-04, 2005 FCA 161, dated May 6, 2005, is granted with costs to the applicants in any event of the cause. Granted, with costs to the applicant(s) in any event of the cause |
|
| 2005-10-03 | All materials on application for leave submitted to the Judges, CJ Bi Cha | |
| 2005-09-01 | Respondent's response on the application for leave to appeal, Completed on: 2005-09-01 | William Isen |
| 2005-08-05 | Letter acknowledging receipt of a complete application for leave to appeal | |
| 2005-08-05 | Application for leave to appeal, Completed on: 2005-08-05 | Stephen Simms |
Parties
Please note that in the case of closed files, the “Status” column reflects the status of the parties at the time of the proceedings. For more information about the proceedings and about the dates when the file was open, please consult the docket of the case in question.
Main parties
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Simms, Stephen | Appellant | Active |
| Simms, Marla | Appellant | Active |
v.
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Isen, William | Respondent | Active |
Counsel
Party: Simms, Stephen
Counsel
Suite 3100
390 Bay Street
Toronto, Ontario
M5H 1W2
Telephone: (416) 868-3210
FAX: (416) 868-3134
Agent
2600 - 160 Elgin St
Box 466 Station D
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 1C3
Telephone: (613) 233-1781
FAX: (613) 563-9869
Email: brian.crane@gowlingwlg.com
Party: Simms, Marla
Counsel
Suite 3100
390 Bay Street
Toronto, Ontario
M5H 1W2
Telephone: (416) 868-3210
FAX: (416) 868-3134
Agent
2600 - 160 Elgin St
Box 466 Station D
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 1C3
Telephone: (613) 233-1781
FAX: (613) 563-9869
Email: brian.crane@gowlingwlg.com
Party: Isen, William
Counsel
Robert M. Ben
One Queen Street East
Suite 1800
Toronto, Ontario
M5C 2W5
Telephone: (416) 863-1230
FAX: (416) 863-1241
Email: gadair@adairmorse.com
Agent
300 - 50 O'Connor Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 6L2
Telephone: (613) 232-7171
FAX: (613) 231-3191
Email: jbeedell@langmichener.ca
Summary
Keywords
None.
Summary
Case summaries are prepared by the Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Canada (Law Branch). Please note that summaries are not provided to the Judges of the Court. They are placed on the Court file and website for information purposes only.
Constitutional law - Division of powers - Admiralty law - Limitation of liability - Jurisdiction of Federal Court - Injury to Applicant occurring beside a pleasure craft just after its removal from a lake - Whether Federal Court has jurisdiction over the incident as a “maritime matter” pursuant to the Federal Court Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. F-7 to determine the limitation of liability issue on the personal injury claim under the Canada Shipping Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. S.9, as amended by An Act to Amend the Canada Shipping Act (maritime liability), S.C. 1998, c. 6.
After a day of boating on a lake with his friend, Simms, the Respondent, Isen, put his boat on a trailer and towed it out of the water with his automobile into the parking lot adjacent to the lake. While Isen was making preparations to transport the boat to another lake, Simms was standing to the side of the boat. Isen attempted to secure a cover to his boat with a bungee cord that he hooked to a cleat on one side of the boat and stretched the width of the boat to the other side. The cord slipped from his hand and the metal hook on the end of the cord struck Simms in the eye. As a result of the injuries he suffered, Simms commenced an action, claiming $2 million in damages. In addition, his wife claimed $200,000 under the Family Law Act. In a separate application before the Federal Court, Isen sought to limit the scope of his liability to $1 million pursuant to s. 577(1) of the Canada Shipping Act, as amended. The parties agreed that Isen’s boat was a “ship” within the meaning of the Act, but the issue was whether the Simms’ claims arose from an occasion “involving a ship” and therefore a matter of maritime law or whether this was a provincial matter involving property law and civil rights.
The Federal Court held that the personal injury to Simms constituted “claims arising on any distinct occasion involving a ship with a tonnage of less than 300 tons.” The decision that the Federal Court had jurisdiction to determine the limitation of liability issue was upheld on appeal.
Lower court rulings
Federal Court of Canada, Trial Division
T-341-03, 2004 FC 227
Applicant's action in damages found to be a maritime matter; Applicant's action for limitation of liability pursuant to s.577(1) of the Canada Shipping Act allowed
Federal Court of Appeal
A-127-04, 2005 FCA 161
Appeal dismissed
Memorandums of argument on application for leave to appeal
The memorandums of argument on an application for leave to appeal will be posted here 30 days after leave to appeal has been granted unless they contain personal information, information that is subject to a publication ban, or any other information that is not part of the public record. You may also obtain copies of the memorandum by filing out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613‑996‑7933 or at 1‑888‑551‑1185.
If you have questions about a memorandum of argument or want to use a memorandum of argument, please contact the author of the memorandum of argument directly. Their name appears at the end of the memorandum of argument. The contact information for counsel is found in the “Counsel” tab of this page.
Downloadable PDFs
Not available
Related links
Factums on appeal
The factums of the appellant, the respondent and the intervener will be posted here at least 2 weeks before the hearing unless they contain personal information, information that is subject to a publication ban, or any other information that is not part of the public record. You may also obtain copies of factums by filling out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613‑996‑7933 or at 1‑888‑551‑1185.
If you have questions about a factum or want permission to use a factum, please contact the author of the factum directly. Their contact information appears on the first page of each factum.
Downloadable PDFs
Not available