What is the test for determining whether a city owes a duty of care to an individual?

Ontario, Canada


The following excerpt is from Kent v. Laverdiere, 2011 ONSC 5411 (CanLII):

The English case Anns v. Merton London Borough Council[5] dealt with the issue of whether a city owed a duty of care to an individual and could be sued for damages and the criteria set out in that case is often referred to as “the Anns test”. The Anns test sets out the questions that must be considered when determining duty of care: …the question has to be approached in two stages. First one has to ask whether, as between the alleged wrongdoer and the person who has suffered damage there is a sufficient relationship of proximity or neighborhood such that, in the reasonable contemplation of the former, carelessness on his part may be likely to cause damage to the latter—in which case a prima facie duty of care arises. Secondly, if the first question is answered affirmatively, it is necessary to consider whether there are any considerations which ought to negative, or to reduce or limit the scope of the duty or the class of person to whom it is owed or the damages to which a breach of it may give rise.

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