PUBLICATIONS

First published in Advocates Quarterly. A municipality’s statutory duty to keep its roads and sidewalks in repair has long given rise to a cause of action to persons injured as a result of the breach of that duty.

First published in the Advocates Quarterly. An overview of the major principles relating to duties of care, with a focus on whether and when the duty is owed by a public body.

On a practical level, causation simply means that the current condition or circumstances would be different had an act or omission not occurred. The alteration in circumstances can be positive, negative, or just a maintenance of the status quo.  The critical matter is that the situation would not be what it is had there been no act or omission; otherwise, the act or omission cannot be said to have had any effect on the current situation.  The “but for” test is merely another way of expressing this concept of change or difference in the current situation that would not otherwise have been present.