Watkins v. Hines

Watkins v. Hines

The court granted a limited stay of the constitutional issues (and barred obtaining trial dates) until the Court of Appeal decides the test cases (Hartling and McKinnon), finding the Attorney General met the heavy onus for a stay to secure procedural fairness and efficiency and to avoid multiplicative and potentially conflicting trials, but refused a full stay of the entire proceedings.

Citation
2009 NSSC 182
Parties
Plaintiff: Peter Watkins; Defendant: Peter Hines; Applicant: Attorney General of Nova Scotia
Court
Supreme Court of Nova Scotia
Jurisdiction
Canada
Judgment Date
9 June 2009
Procedural Posture
Civil — Personal Injury With Constitutional Challenge to Statutory Damages Cap / Stay Application Pending Appellate Review of Test Cases (pre Trial)
Outcome
Limited stay granted: constitutional issues stayed pending Court of Appeal decisions in the test cases; full stay of entire proceedings denied.
Legal Topics
Charter S.7, Charter S.15, Damages Cap, Stay of Proceedings, Test Case Management, Abuse of Process
Source Language
English
Constitutional Law Civil Procedure Tort Law Insurance Law Charter S.7 Charter S.15 Damages Cap Stay of Proceedings +2 more

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Parties

Peter Watkins

Plaintiff

Peter Hines

Defendant

Attorney General of Nova Scotia

Applicant

Procedural Posture

Civil — Personal Injury With Constitutional Challenge to Statutory Damages Cap / Stay Application Pending Appellate Review of Test Cases (pre Trial)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether to grant a stay of the constitutional issues pending the Court of Appeal decisions in the test cases
  2. 2 Whether a full stay of the entire proceedings or a stay limited to constitutional issues is appropriate
  3. 3 What onus applies to an applicant seeking a stay and whether that onus is met

Ratio Decidendi

The court granted a limited stay of the constitutional issues (and barred obtaining trial dates) until the Court of Appeal decides the test cases (Hartling and McKinnon), finding the Attorney General met the heavy onus for a stay to secure procedural fairness and efficiency and to avoid multiplicative and potentially conflicting trials, but refused a full stay of the entire proceedings.

Court Disposition

Limited stay granted: constitutional issues stayed pending Court of Appeal decisions in the test cases; full stay of entire proceedings denied.

Orders

  • Stay of the constitutional issues in this proceeding until the Court of Appeal decides the test cases Hartling v. Nova Scotia and McKinnon v. Roy
  • Order that no party obtain trial dates in this case before the Court of Appeal issues its decision in the test cases