Tilson Estate v. Summit Air Charters Ltd. et al.; Pontus v. Inuvik Regional Hospital et al., (2007) 401 A.R. 277 (NWTCA)

• Judge: Schuler, Costigan and Paperny, JJ.A.
• Court: Court of Appeal (Northwest Territories)
• Case Date: January 23, 2007
• Jurisdiction: Northwest Territories
• Citations: (2007), 401 A.R. 277 (NWTCA)

Tilson Estate v. Summit Air Charters  (2007), 401 A.R. 277 (NWTCA);

      391 W.A.C. 277

MLB headnote and full text

Temp. Cite: [2007] A.R. TBEd. FE.038

John Earl Ellingson and Janice Louise Ellingson as Administrators of the Estate of Mary Katherine Tilson (nee Ellingson), Deceased (appellant) v. Summit Air Charters Ltd. and Joanne Frances MacKinnon as Administratrix of the Estate of John Ernest Bidwell, Deceased (respondent)

Larry Henry Pontus, Public Trustee for the Northwest Territories, Administrator for the Estate of Effie Elizabeth Blake, Deceased (appellant/plaintiffs) v. Inuvik Regional Hospital, Inuvik Hospital Board of Management, the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories, Doctor Jason Waechter, Jane Doe and John Doe (respondents/defendants)

(A-1-AP-2005000005; A-1-AP-2005000007; 2007 NWTCA 1)

Indexed As: Tilson Estate v. Summit Air Charters Ltd. et al.; Pontus v. Inuvik Regional Hospital et al.

Northwest Territories Court of Appeal

Schuler, Costigan and Paperny, JJ.A.

January 23, 2007.

Summary:

Blake died from tuberculosis. Tilson died in a plane crash. Their estates sued. At issue was whether s. 31(1) of the Trustee Act, R.S.N.W.T. 1988, c. T-8, permitted the estates to claim damages for loss of expectation of life and loss of future wages (collectively the "lost years claims").

The Northwest Territories Supreme Court dismissed the claims. The plaintiffs appealed.

The Northwest Territories Court of Appeal allowed the appeals.

Damages - Topic 2326

Torts causing death - Loss of expectation of life - General principles - [See Damages - Topic 2384 ].

Damages - Topic 2384

Torts causing death - Particular damage claims - Loss of future income (incl. lost years claim) - Section 31(1) of the Trustee Act (N.W.T.) permitted the administrator of a deceased's estate to sue a tortfeasor for damages, except damages for libel and slander, in the same manner and with the same rights and remedies as the deceased would if living have been entitled to - Blake died from tuberculosis - Tilson died in a plane crash - Their estates sued - At issue was whether s. 31(1) permitted the estates to claim damages for loss of expectation of life and loss of future wages (collectively the "lost years claims") - The Northwest Territories Court of Appeal held that it did - It did not matter whether the deceased lived for a second, a minute, an hour or a week after the injury - The remedies available to victims of tortious conduct should not depend on artificial parsing.

Trusts - Topic 4105

Administration - Actions by trustee - Torts - Loss of expectation of life - [See Damages - Topic 2384 ].

Trusts - Topic 4106

Administration - Actions by trustee - Torts - Loss of future income (incl. lost years claim) - [See Damages - Topic 2384 ].

Trusts - Topic 5903

The trustee - General - Right to bring action - Loss of expectation of life and loss of future income - [See Damages - Topic 2384 ].

Cases Noticed:

Paneak Estate et al. v. Heli-Max Ltd. et al.; Daniska Estate v. Heli-Max Ltd. et al. (2006), 397 A.R. 210; 384 W.A.C. 210; 2006 NUCA 4, appld. [para. 3].

Rose v. Ford, [1937] 3 All. E.R. 359 (H.L.), not folld.

Statutes Noticed:

Trustee Act, R.S.N.W.T. 1988, c. T-8, sect. 31(1) [para. 1].

Counsel:

Kevin P. Feehan, Q.C., and Shannon R.W. Gullberg, For the appellants, John Earl Ellingson and Janice Louise Ellingson as Administrators of the Estate of Mary Katherine Tilson (nee Ellingson), deceased;

D. Bruce Garrow, for the respondents, Summit Air Charters Ltd. and Joanne Frances MacKinnon as Administratrix of the Estate of John Ernest Bidwell, deceased;

Teri Lynn Bougie, for the appellant, Larry Henry Pontus;

Jonathan Rossall, for the respondent, Dr. Jason Waechter;

Terri Nguyen, for the respondents, Inuvik Regional Hospital, Inuvik Hospital Board of Management and the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories.

These appeals were heard on January 23, 2007, by Schuler, Costigan and Paperny, JJ.A., of the Northwest Territories Court of Appeal. The decision of the Court of Appeal was delivered orally by Costigan, J.A., on January 23, 2007, with written release on January 31, 2007.