This recent decision of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court provided timely guidance to the Board of Examiners in Psychology as well as to litigants in two matters involving a similar issue of disclosure of raw psychological test data. The two personal injury cases both involved allegations of psychological sequelae and the Defendants had requested provision of raw test data as part of the Plaintiff’s disclosure. The two psychologists responded to the disclosure requests by supplying the raw data to ...

The Nova Scotia Supreme Court recently released this decision on an unsuccessful summary judgment motion. The motion was brought by a defendant in a personal injury claim involving a Metro Transit passenger who alleged injuries suffered during a collision with the defendant’s vehicle. The decision raises questions as to the admissibility of evidence often traditionally attached to affidavits of administrative personnel (whether insurance adjusters or paralegals) who have no personal kno...

On August 30th, the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal released its 4-1 decision upholding the right of a young plaintiff to sue the owner of a ski resort where he sustained injuries that left him paralyzed, as well as the snowboard manufacturer which was offering free rides on their products (along with free samples of high-energy drinks) on the day the plaintiff fell. The defendants had moved for summary judgment in 2011 and the decision was released 16 months later. The motions judge was of the v...

This recent Supreme Court of Nova Scotia decision, on a motion by the plaintiff, reinforces the principle that a party seeking production carries the onus of establishing relevance. The case involves a 2007 fire at the defendant’s premises. It so happened that, subsequent to moving to a new location, the defendant experienced another fire in 2009 at the new premises. The plaintiff in the action regarding the 2007 fire made a motion to obtain documents relating to the 2009 fire. In holding...