Cases

Laudon v. Roberts, [2009] O.J. No. 1824 (C.A.)

Date of Decision: May 07, 2009

Case Summary:
Our client appealed the trial judge decision to refuse to deduct an amount the plaintiff had received in damages from the co-defendant before entering judgment against him. The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal holding that any amount the plaintiff received from a joint tortfeasor must be deducted from the assessment of damages and before judgment is entered against the second tortfeasor as failing to do so would allow the plaintiff to double recover. As the jury’s award was less than what the plaintiff had already received from the co-defendant, deducting the amount received reduced the judgment to zero and for the first time in Canada resulted in the dismissal of the action against a liable tortfeasor. Laudon v. Roberts has since been described on of the leading authorities on the issue of double recovery in the context of partial settlement agreements such as Mary Carter agreements.

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