Can a municipality be sued for failing to give notice to a plaintiff?

Ontario, Canada


The following excerpt is from Fremeau v. Toronto (City), 2009 CanLII 49543 (ON SC):

Where the municipality’s defence is not prejudiced and the plaintiff offers a reasonable excuse for non-compliance with the notice requirement, a judge may hold that the failure to give notice is not a bar to the action: Cena v. Oakville, [2009] O.J. No. 251 (S.C.J.).

Recent case law establishes that while the plaintiff must establish both that the municipality’s ability to defend was not prejudiced and also that there was a reasonable excuse for the late notice, if there is no prejudice then a modest excuse may be sufficient to justify the late non-prejudicial notice: Cena v. Oakville, [2009] O.J. No. 251 (S.C.J.).

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