Product Liability Law in Canada, 2nd Edition

Products liability has had an enduring relevance in the law. Product Liability Law in Canada, 2nd Edition by the late Dean F. Edgell, John Mather and Michael Robson provides a comprehensive overview of product liability law in Canada, offering guidance on how to streamline research, strengthen arguments and stay current with legal developments.

With a focus on negligence, the role of contract law, defenses, government regulation, class proceedings, damages, conflict of laws and insurance issues, the text provides practitioners, in-house counsel and researchers with a clear roadmap for navigating this complex area.

Topics Covered

• Negligence – application of negligence principles to cases involving manufacture, design, distribution, marketing, sale, repair, installation or inspection of defective or dangerous products
• Liability in Contract – claims based on breach of contract or warranty including implied warranties at common law, collateral warranties, Sales of Goods Act and other statutory conditions
• Regulatory Standards – federal and provincial legislation and regulations that govern the sale and manufacture of products and support or affect claims for civil liability
• Class Proceedings – use of class action suits in circumstances where mass-produced products cause losses to great numbers of consumers
• Damages – principles of damages applicable to product liability actions
• Conflict of Laws – impact where damages are suffered in a jurisdiction other than where the product was purchased or manufactured
• Insurance Issues – Commercial General Liability insurance policies consulted most frequently to respond to product liability claims

Product Liability Law in Canada, 2nd Edition also discusses substantive matters, including limitation clauses and contracting out of potential liability, negligent misrepresentation, concurrent liability in tort and contract, fundamental breach and contribution and indemnity.

What’s New In This Edition

• Incorporates discussion of significant legislative updates since the first edition was published 25 years ago
• Updated appendices featuring how to build a plaintiff’s product liability case; draft statement of claim; and draft statement of defence
• Discussion of recent case law, including more than 30 Supreme Court of Canada decisions:
  • Western Canadian Shopping Centres Inc. v. Dutton, [2000] S.C.J. No. 63, 2001 SCC 46 (S.C.C.)
  • Derksen v. 539938 Ontario Ltd., [2001] S.C.J. No. 27, [2001] 3 S.C.R. 398 (S.C.C.)
  • Rumley v. British Columbia, [2001] S.C.J. No. 39, 2001 SCC 69 at paras 35-39 (S.C.C.)
  • Hollick v. Toronto (City), [2001] S.C.J. No. 67, 2001 SCC 68 (S.C.C.)
  • Cooper v. Hobart, [2001] S.C.J. No. 76, 2001 SCC 79 (S.C.C.)
  • Whiten v. Pilot Insurance Co., [2002] S.C.J. No. 19, 2002 SCC 18 (S.C.C.)
  • Family Insurance Corp. v. Lombard Canada Ltd., [2002] S.C.J. No. 49, 2002 SCC 48 (S.C.C.)
  • Z.I. Pompey Industrie v. ECU-Line N.V., [2003] S.C.J. No. 23, 2003 SCC 27 (S.C.C.)
  • Beals v. Saldanha, [2003] S.C.J. No. 77, 2003 SCC 72 (S.C.C.)
  • Fidler v. Sun Life Assurance Co. of Canada, [2006] S.C.J. No. 30, [2006] 2 S.C.R. 3 (S.C.C.)
  • Hanke v. Resurfice Corp., [2007] S.C.J. No. 7, 2007 SCC 7 (S.C.C.)
  • Mustapha v. Culligan of Canada Ltd., [2008] S.C.J. No. 27, 2008 SCC 27 (S.C.C.)
  • Holland v. Saskatchewan, [2008] S.C.J. No. 43, 2008 SCC 42 (S.C.C.)
  • Tercon Contractors Ltd. v. British Columbia (Transportation and Highways), [2010] S.C.J. No. 4, 2010 SCC 4 (S.C.C.)
  • Progressive Homes Ltd. v. Lombard General Insurance Co. of Canada, [2010] S.C.J. No. 33, 2010 SCC 33 (S.C.C.)
  • R. v. Imperial Tobacco Canada Ltd., [2011] S.C.J. No. 42, 2011 SCC 42 (S.C.C.)
  • Club Resorts Ltd. v. Van Breda, [2012] S.C.J. No. 17, 2012 SCC 17 (S.C.C.)
  • Breeden v. Black, [2012] S.C.J. No. 19, 2012 SCC 19 (S.C.C.)
  • Clements v. Clements, [2012] S.C.J. No. 32, 2012 SCC 32 (S.C.C.)
  • Pro-Sys Consultants Ltd. v. Microsoft Corp., [2013] S.C.J. No. 57, 2013 SCC 57 (S.C.C.)
  • Sun-Rype Products Ltd. v. Archer Daniels Midland Co., [2013] S.C.J. No. 58, 2013 SCC 58 (S.C.C.)
  • AIC Ltd. v. Fischer, [2013] S.C.J. No. 69, 2013 SCC 69 (S.C.C.)
  • Sattva Capital Corp. v. Creston Moly Corp., [2014] S.C.J. No. 53, 2014 SCC 53 (S.C.C.)
  • Ledcor Construction Ltd. v. Northbridge Indemnity Insurance Co., [2016] S.C.J. No. 37, 2016 SCC 37 (S.C.C.)
  • Saadati v. Moorhead, [2017] S.C.J. No. 28, 2017 SCC 28 (S.C.C.)
  • Douez v. Facebook, Inc., [2017] S.C.J. No. 33, 2017 SCC 33 (S.C.C.)
  • Deloitte & Touche v. Livent Inc. (Receiver of), [2017] S.C.J. No. 63, 2017 SCC 63 (S.C.C.)
  • Uber Technologies Inc. v. Heller, [2020] S.C.J. No. 16, 2020 SCC 16 (S.C.C.)
  • 1688782 Ontario Inc. v. Maple Leaf Foods Inc., [2020] S.C.J. No. 35, 2020 SCC 35 (S.C.C.)
  • 9354-9186 Québec inc. v. Callidus Capital Corp., [2020] S.C.J. No. 100, 2020 SCC 10 (S.C.C.)
  • Nelson (City) v. Marchi, [2021] S.C.J. No. 41, 2021 SCC 41 (S.C.C.)
  • Earthco Soil Mixtures Inc. v. Pine Valley Enterprises Inc., [2024] S.C.J. No. 20, 2024 SCC 20 (S.C.C.)

Who Should Read This Book

• Civil litigation lawyers – to assist with product liability claims and defences
• Corporate lawyers – to advise clients on meeting their legal requirements when selling or distributing products in Canada
• In-house counsel – to understand the standards for product warnings and recalls, and navigate product liability
• Corporate risk managers – to help with the development of effective product warnings and with the execution of product recalls
• Exporters to Canada – to understand the duties and obligations of those putting products into the Canadian marketplace
• Law professors and students – to gain insight into important areas of business and consumer law