What is the duty of a municipality to maintain all its sidewalks in perfect level?
Ontario, Canada
The following excerpt is from Cole v. Deep River (Town of), 2003 CanLII 23452 (ON SC):
I accept and adopt the following statement from the decision of MacFarland J. in Stojadinov v. Hamilton (City), [1988] O.J. No. 2038 at p. 5: The duty on the municipality is to keep the sidewalks in repair which is to say in such a condition that a person using ordinary care for his or her own safety can pass along it in safety. In my view it would be requiring the impossible of a municipality to require that it maintain all its sidewalks in perfect level. As has been said in these cases over the years, it does not follow because an accident happens, that a sidewalk is necessarily in a state of non-repair.
"The most advanced legal research software ever built."
The above passage should not be considered legal advice. Reliable answers to complex legal questions require comprehensive research memos. To learn more visit www.alexi.com.
Other Questions
Does s.44 of the Municipal Act, 2001, c.25 stipulate a municipality's duty of respect to sidewalks within it? (Ontario, Canada)
Can a municipality be held liable for the safety of pedestrians who are struck and injured by traps on the sidewalk? (Ontario, Canada)
What steps must a municipality take to prove a sidewalk is in a state of non-repair? (Ontario, Canada)
Can a municipality be held liable for gross negligence for failing to respond to a citizen’s warning that children were slipping on icy sidewalks? (Ontario, Canada)
Is a municipal sidewalk considered part of a highway? (Ontario, Canada)
What is the test for maintaining a residential street as a sidewalk? (Ontario, Canada)
How have courts found liability against a municipality in a case where a plaintiff stepped into a depression of one to one-and-a-half inches deep on a sidewalk? (Ontario, Canada)
Is a municipality bound to maintain creeks? (Ontario, Canada)
Does the trial judge have any authority or authority to find a municipality liable for damages under the Municipal Act, 2001? (Ontario, Canada)
Is a plaintiff entitled to sue for damages if she intentionally moves from the safety of the sidewalk onto the grass next to the sidewalk? (Ontario, Canada)
