More than 10,000 Canadians received a medically-assisted death in 2021: report
Quebec Superior Court suspends Bill 96’s translation requirement until constitutionality determined
The Ontario government has given Maggie an ultimatum: the disabled teen can lose her funding or her independence
FBI took 11 sets of classified material from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home while investigating possible Espionage Act violations (US)
Ontario class action settlement reclassifies volunteers as employees, setting new precedent
Availability of Judicial Review in SABS Disputes
Are masking policies still valid?
Justice Canada releases commission report on impact of lack of legal aid in family law disputes
Harmonized sales tax part of maximum amount of attendant care benefits owed by insurer: court
New rules coming next month to help Canadians with cancelled and delayed flights
Stephen King set to testify for govt in books merger trial (US)
New law program in Quebec to begin next fall, a first in 50 years
The Impact of the Lack of Legal Aid in Family Law Cases
SCC rules that when someone is required by their partner to wear a condom but do not, they could be guilty of sexual assault.
Big Plastic suing feds over single-use ban — again
Tim Hortons offers coffee and doughnut as proposed settlement in class action lawsuit
The SCC has refused to hear the appeal to declare the renewal of the state of health emergency by the Quebec government invalid
Federal privacy commissioner investigating controversial ArriveCAN app
Kraken, a U.S. Crypto Exchange, Is Suspected of Violating Sanctions (US)
Ontario court certifies class action on former patients’ anxiety from notice of risk of infection
The stakes couldn’t be higher as Canada’s top court decides whether to hear climate class action lawsuit
Professor Barnali Choudhury selected by EU as trade and sustainable development expert
The Supreme Court decision on the ‘Ghomeshi’ amendments will help sexual assault victims access justice
AFN Reaches $20 B Final Settlement Agreement to Compensate First Nations Children and Families

Court ruled that schools operated as ‘total institution’ liable for punitive damages

Children in 'total institutions' risk emotional harm and developing psychological difficulties.

PHOTO: Stock Image

The Court of Appeal for Ontario has upheld an award of punitive damages in favour of students subjected to emotional harm by a school operated as a “total institution.”

In Cavanaugh v. Grenville Christian College, 2021 ONCA 755Cavanaugh and his co-plaintiffs (the Class) were former boarding students of Grenville Christian College (Grenville) between 1973 and 1997. They sued Grenville for abusive practices, including corporal punishment, public humiliation, and other excessive discipline. The trial judge ruled in favour of the Class, having found systemic negligence on the part of Grenville and that Grenville breached both their fiduciary duty and duty of care.

Grenville appealed, focusing largely on the trial judge’s conclusion on systemic negligence. In particular, they asserted that the “total institution” concept advanced by the expert witness was a modern construct not recognized in 1973 to 1997. Having been introduced in 2000, Grenville argued that they could not have known that they were operating a “total institution” and therefore harm was not foreseeable.

The appellate court disagreed.
 
Contrary to Grenville’s assertion, the appellate court ruled that Grenville’s characterization as a “total institution” did not lead the trial judge to conclude that systemic negligence was established. Rather, it formed part of her analysis on whether Grenville’s treatment of the Class fell below the standard of care for students at the time, said the court. The trial judge considered the expert witness’s testimony that children in total institutions are subject to “disconnect, degradation and powerlessness” and thus are at risk of emotional harm, said the court.

The trial judge anchored her finding of systemic negligence when she identified certain practices imposed by Grenville and concluded that they were not “isolated incidents of excessive discipline,” but were in fact part of the school’s “culture” since they were “aligned with its philosophy and embedded in its operational policies to enforce its norms, rules and expectations,” said the court.

The expert witness further testified that “many of the Class members experienced physical and emotional abuse, including spurning, terrorizing, isolating or exploiting, that left these individuals at risk of developing psychological difficulties,” said the court.

“[Grenville] admitted that they owed a duty of care to the Class members to take reasonable steps, among other things, to protect them from actionable physical, psychological or emotional harm,” said the court. But having found that Grenville lacked policies or controls to ensure such protection, the trial judge concluded that Grenville breached its fiduciary duty to the Class, said the court.

GOOGLE ADVERTISEMENT

Want direct access to the latest LITN content?

Stay in the loop ➞ Subscribe to LITN instant notifications.
Receive the latest content delivered directly to your device.
Unsubscribe at anytime.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I agree to LITN's Terms & Conditions.

Latest News

Subscribe

Join the LITN Newsletter ➞ the latest news delivered to your inbox. Unsubscribe at any time.


GOOGLE ADVERTISEMENT

Instagram Feed