Case clarifies loss of use damages

EKB lawyer Laura Morrison successfully represented the appellant, a car dealership, in the appeal of a Provincial Court of British Columbia decision regarding a vehicle leased by the appellant that suffered an engine failure. On appeal, the Supreme Court found that the trial judge erred by awarding the lease payments that had been made by the respondent to the appellant as damages for the respondent’s loss of use of the vehicle.

This decision affirms the common law proposition that to succeed in a claim for damages for loss of use of property, the claimant must present evidence of what damages it actually suffered as a result of being deprived of the use of the property. This decision also clarifies that lease payments are not the proper measure of damages for loss of use of leased property.

Read the full decision.

Related Lawyers