Does a cause of action arise until damage has been sustained?
Ontario, Canada
The following excerpt is from Vaughan v. Rizmi Holdings, 2010 ONSC 1563 (CanLII):
We accept that the plaintiffs’ cause of action did not arise until damage had been sustained. However, it is at least arguable that not all of the damages sought by the plaintiffs flow solely from the amendment of the legislation. A cause of action accrues at the point in time when the plaintiff realizes it has sustained harm. It is not necessary that the full extent of the damages be known at that time, nor is it necessary that all of the damages have even been sustained: Peixeiro v. Haberman (1997), 1997 CanLII 325 (SCC), 151 D.L.R. (4th) 429, 103 O.A.C. 161, 3 S.C.R. 549 at para 18.
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