Randall v. Fast

Randall v. Fast

The court accepted the employer's evidence for past income, found a 30% chance that the deceased would obtain C.G.A. by 2005, adopted a realistic average future income of $40,000 for 2001–2012, applied the total approach to dependency (including shared household expenses), fixed a dependency factor of 36.4% per child, set dependency to age 20, applied a 10% reduction for negative contingencies, applied a 3.5% discount for household services, and awarded specific monetary sums to each child accordingly.

Citation
2001 BCSC 157
Parties
Plaintiffs: Helene Randall and Lester Randall, personal representatives of Jacqueline Louella Smith, deceased, for the benefit of Geordie Lorne Smith and Jenessa Lee Anne Marie Smith; Defendants: Eric Fast and Kohlman Industries Ltd.
Court
Supreme Court of British Columbia
Jurisdiction
Canada
Judgment Date
25 January 2001
Procedural Posture
Wrongful Death / Assessment of Damages Under Family Compensation Act / Trial Assessment of Damages
Outcome
Assessment of damages awarded in favour of the infant plaintiffs; specified past and future awards for each child and ancillary directions for counsel to calculate management fees, tax gross-up and interest; liberty to apply for costs.
Legal Topics
Loss of Dependency, Future Income Estimation, Qualification Contingency (c.g.a.), Total Vs Incremental Approach to Dependency, Discount Rate for Present Value, Management Fees
Source Language
English
Torts Family Law Damages Wrongful Death Loss of Dependency Future Income Estimation Qualification Contingency (c.g.a.) Total Vs Incremental Approach to Dependency +2 more

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Parties

Helene Randall and Lester Randall, personal representatives of Jacqueline Louella Smith, deceased, for the benefit of Geordie Lorne Smith and Jenessa Lee Anne Marie Smith

Plaintiffs

Eric Fast and Kohlman Industries Ltd.

Defendants

Procedural Posture

Wrongful Death / Assessment of Damages Under Family Compensation Act / Trial Assessment of Damages

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Appropriate measure of deceased's prospective income and probability of C.G.A. qualification
  2. 2 Whether to apply total approach or incremental approach to loss of financial support
  3. 3 Appropriate dependency factor and length of dependency

Ratio Decidendi

The court accepted the employer's evidence for past income, found a 30% chance that the deceased would obtain C.G.A. by 2005, adopted a realistic average future income of $40,000 for 2001–2012, applied the total approach to dependency (including shared household expenses), fixed a dependency factor of 36.4% per child, set dependency to age 20, applied a 10% reduction for negative contingencies, applied a 3.5% discount for household services, and awarded specific monetary sums to each child accordingly.

Court Disposition

Assessment of damages awarded in favour of the infant plaintiffs; specified past and future awards for each child and ancillary directions for counsel to calculate management fees, tax gross-up and interest; liberty to apply for costs.

Orders

  • Award to Geordie Smith subtotal $224,000 (past and future pecuniary damages as specified)
  • Award to Jenessa Smith subtotal $238,000 (past and future pecuniary damages as specified)