Part 28 published on 01/11/09
Condominium corporation not responsible for damage to vehicle
The Plaintiff condominium owner asserted a claim against the condominium corporation for damage caused to his truck. His truck collided with the door of the building’s parkade when the door descended as the Plaintiff drove his truck into the parkade.
On the evidence, the Court was not able to determine why exactly the accident had occurred. Even so, the Court was satisfied that the accident had not occurred because of any failure on the part of the condominium corporation (to take reasonable care). This was a “one time event” and there was no evidence that the door had malfunctioned before or after this accident. Under the Occupiers’ Liability Act, the condominium corporation does not insure the safety of users of the premises. The Court said: “The standard applied to an occupier is reasonableness, not perfection”. As such, the corporation would be liable only if damage arose from the corporation’s failure to take reasonable care to make the premises reasonably safe. Again, there was no evidence that the condominium corporation failed to take reasonable care in this case.