Court allowed plaintiff to amend pleadings in claim against waterpark to include safety reports.

Cyr v. Calypso Parc Inc.

(2016), 2016 CarswellOnt 7797, 2016 ONSC 2683, Nathalie Champagne Master (Ont. S.C.J.) [Ontario]

Pleadings -- Amendment -- Grounds for amendment

To alter or add to facts pleaded Plaintiff asserted she attended waterpark and was seriously injured on water slide -- Plaintiff issued statement of claim alleging negligence -- Matter was set down for trial -- Following issuance of statement of claim, Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA) investigated defendant regarding overall safety of its operation -- TSSA commenced regulatory proceeding against defendant alleging safety violations with respect to waterslides and rides not including water slide plaintiff was injured on -- TSSA regulatory proceedings resulted in findings of guilt against defendant on 6 out of 11 charges -- After claim was issued and following examinations for discovery, defendant provided plaintiff with disclosure of incident reports that plaintiff asserted were similar to incident that gave rise to present litigation -- Plaintiff brought motion to add fact of these reports to her pleadings to allow her to introduce at trial, evidence of similar fact and/or pattern of behavior by defendant, and motion to amend statement of claim to include facts that pertained to TSSA proceedings and seeks order for disclosure of TSSA investigation file -- Motion granted -- Plaintiff was granted leave to amend statement of claim as proposed -- TSSA was ordered to deliver its investigation file to parties -- Proposed amendments were not frivolous, vexatious, or abuse of court’s process -- Proposed amendments did not fail to disclose reasonable cause of action -- Proposed amendments supported plaintiff’s claim for negligence -- Permitting amendments would not cause delay to scheduled trial -- There was no evidence to suggest that prejudice could not be compensated for by costs order.