Legal Blog
Notice to the Crown
Monday, January 28th, 2008
The Provincial Crown has very strict provisions for its notice periods. These provisions have caused much frustration to lawyers acting for a client who is pursing a claim against the Crown.
The notice provisions are onerous for both the lawyer and the client. In many cases, after the loss occurs clients will not have access to a lawyer within the specified period. This happens often with people who have been incarcerated.
Below find the link to the act.
http://www.canlii.org/on/laws/sta/p-27/20071217/whole.html
Key Information Summary:
- In claims arising from a breach of duty respecting property, the CROWN must be given notice within 10 days of the act occurring.
- If the claim involved circumstance that do not relate to property, there are additional notice provisions found in section 7(1). The CROWN must be given 60 days NOTICE before a claim is ISSUED or the claim maybe deemed a nullity. - Note: it's 60 days before issuing a claim. If you fail to meet this notice provision, notice will be deemed from the date the Claim was served upon the Crown. This may result in missing a limitation period.
- Section 10 requires that such a notice be served on the CROWN CIVIL OFFICE. The crown civil law office is located at 720 Bay Street, 8th Floor Toronto Ontario M5G 2K1.
For additional reading on this subject see the article Jailhouse Torts published in The Litigator, October 2007 article.
If you are a client and think you might have a claim against the Ontario government do not wait contact a member of our team immediately to ensure you meet the notice periods.