Top Five 2006: Childs v Desormeaux

Each year at OJEN’s Toronto Summer Law Institute, a judge from the Court of Appeal for Ontario identifies five cases that are of significance in the educational setting. This summary, based on these comments and observations, is appropriate for discussion and debate in the classroom setting.

Childs v Desormeaux, [2006] 1 SCR 643, 2006 SCC 18

“A person hosts a party.  Guests drink alcohol.  An inebriated guest drives away and causes an accident in which another person is injured.  Is the host liable to the person injured?  I conclude that as a general rule, a social host does not owe a duty of care to a person injured by a guest who has consumed alcohol” [para. 1].  Thus, the Supreme Court of Canada determined that the social hosts in this case were not liable for damages caused by their intoxicated guest. The full decision is available here.